Meet Laura Sangiacomo, the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences’ Sole Student Athlete

The UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is home to over 600 students, 30+ faculty members, and one student athlete.

Laura Sangiacomo is a pharmaceutical sciences student and member of the UCI women’s track and field team who will be a senior in the 2023-2024 school year.

A black belt in taekwondo, Sangiacomo chose track her freshman year at Ventura High School as a way to meet a physical education requirement (martial arts did not qualify as a substitute for PE) and spend time with friends on the team. She went on to letter in track and field all four years.

The heptathlon competitor began her stint on the UCI team as a pole vaulter, an event she tried out her sophomore year of high school at the request of her coach. Previously, she competed in the hurdles and sprinting, but found pole vaulting to be her best event — an event that eventually led to her recruitment by the UCI track and field team. However, it wasn’t her spot on the team that solidified her choice to become an Anteater, it was the pharmaceutical sciences program.

“I took a physiology/anatomy course in high school, and I was really interested in the way the body functions,” she explained. She considered majoring in biology or chemistry, or pursuing the pre-med path. When her search led her to pharmaceutical sciences, the field seemed perfect: “All the descriptions fit with what I was interested in, I just didn’t have a name for it yet.”

In addition to her success on the track and field team, Sangiacomo has been recognized as an outstanding student in the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. She’s an honor’s student who has won multiple awards for her academic excellence, including being recognized previously for having the highest GPA on the women’s track and field team and the highest GPA among athletes in the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences.

In addition to schooling and her responsibilities as a student athlete, Sangiacomo works at a local pharmacy, as well as assists with research in the UC Irvine Health Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center (PERC). Her studies with PERC give her a space to explore the molecular-level effects of exercise on the body and work with the pediatric participants.

Being a member of the track and field team involves travel throughout California, as well as out of state. With a schedule that includes school, work, practice, and traveling to and from track meets, Sangiacomo emphasizes the significance of time management.

“There have been many nights where I was on the way home from a meet and finishing up an assignment or getting ahead on something. I have to keep my priorities in line — you have to do your school work and then you can focus on everything else,” she said, advising that rest is equally important. “If you take a break, you’ll end up being even more productive than you would have if you just pushed through everything. Take a little time for yourself, and don’t feel guilty about it.”

Sangiacomo plans to pursue her Doctor of Pharmacy in the future. She will graduate with her Bachelor’s in Pharmaceutical Science in 2024 before taking a gap year to evaluate her options for PharmD programs — and hopefully take a cross-country road trip.