Freshman and Honors Program student Carson Pifer is already making a major impact on student life at IU South Bend. Students in the Honors Program are required to complete service hours each semester, and Carson is making her mark on campus by working with the Health and Wellness Center to develop a free medication room.
It will have over the counter medications, such as Aleve, prenatal vitamins and antihistamines. After that, it will grow to offer prescription medications, like birth control, contact lenses, and antidepressants, that can normally cost students a lot of money, says Carson.
The free medication room will hopefully launch in the spring after the Health and Wellness Center is settled in its new location in Riverside Hall.
Carson may be just beginning her second semester as an official student at IU South Bend, but she’s been taking IU courses since she was a sophomore at Plymouth High School through the Advanced College Project (ACP) program. The ACP program provides high school students the opportunity to earn college credit by taking IU courses at their high schools.
While Carson’s decision to attend IU South Bend was influenced by having a head start on college credits, she was also attracted by its location, affordability, and the faculty.
My two sisters attended IU South Bend, and I would come and sit in on classes sometimes. I really love my family and didn’t want to be far away, so I love that campus is close to home, that I know I can get a great education, and take away some financial burden. Plus, the quality of the professors is amazing, they have such great stories and come from all over to teach here, explains Carson.
Carson received scholarships from the IU South Bend Alumni Association and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, where she currently volunteers in Plymouth. She is the hospital tour chairperson, organizing tours for first graders who visit the hospital. She plans to major in biology at IU South Bend and go on to Indiana University School of Medicine in South Bend with the hope of becoming a dermatologist.
I want to stay local and keep ties with the community, says Carson.
Her goals for the semester are to see the free medication room up and running, keep her grades up, and become more involved in the Honors Club and as a Student Alumni Ambassador. In her free time, she enjoys reading and knitting.
