Victoria Erxleben of Arlington Heights Places Second in National Business Plan Competition

DES MOINES, IA (11/18/2010)(readMedia)-- Victoria Erxleben of Arlington Heights, Ill., 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.

Erxleben and her three teammates starting 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.

Being in the national competition is more than we dreamed of accomplishing when we started this project a year ago," Erxleben said. "To be able to represent Drake at a national conference was very rewarding. It was great to meet students and pharmacy owners from all over the nation who share in our appreciation for independent pharmacy.

"I hope that our accomplishment in this competition begins a legacy for Drake students to participate in the future and helps them understand that independent pharmacy is still a great career option. This business plan is everything Drake's entrepreneurial spirit lives for."

Erxleben, daughter of Bernie and Veronica Erxleben, graduated from Buffalo Grove High School in 2005. She is finishing her last year in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Drake University and will be graduating 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.