Kathryn McDonald of Littleton Places Second in National Business Plan Competition

DES MOINES, IA (11/18/2010)(readMedia)-- Kathryn McDonald of Littleton, Colo., a senior pharmacy student in the Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa, recently received second place honors in a national business plan competition.

McDonald and her three teammates started working on the project in 2009. The Drake team finished behind Washington State University College of Pharmacy and ahead of Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy in the Good Neighbor Pharmacy National Community Pharmacists Association's Pruit-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. It is the first national competition of its kind in the pharmacy profession.

The 2010 competition drew entries from 35 schools and colleges of pharmacy -- a record number of submissions in the competition's seven years of existence. The goal of the competition is to motivate pharmacy students to create a business model for buying an existing independent community pharmacy or developing a new pharmacy.

As the second-place team, Drake received a $2,000 contribution to the NCPA student chapter and a $2,000 donation to the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in the name of Dean Raylene Rospond, who will use the funds for programs promoting entrepreneurship and independent community pharmacies.

McDonald, the daughter of Wayne and Marj McDonald, graduated from Littleton High School in 2003. She will graduate from Drake this May.

Drake is a private, independent university in Des Moines, Iowa, with an enrollment of approximately 3,300 full-time undergraduate students from 45 states and 50 countries. Drake University's mission is to provide an exceptional learning environment that prepares students for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishments and responsible global citizenship. The Drake experience is distinguished by collaborative learning among students, faculty and staff and by the integration of the liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation.