Ani Keshishyan, who is graduating from the PharmD program with a 4.0 GPA, was on the honor roll in high school but didn’t always have a clear vision for her future.
After graduation, she enrolled at Pasadena City College (PCC) knowing she was interested in science, maybe teaching on the side. “My journey was not necessarily a straight path,” she says. “I had a lot of figuring out to do.”
Three years later, Keshishyan transferred to UCLA, where she considered medical school and a career in psychiatry. She shadowed physicians, volunteered at the Glendale Memorial Hospital Intensive Care Unit and became a work-study student at the UCLA Department of Urology. But nothing clicked until she met a clinical pharmacist who worked at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.
“It sparked something in me,” she says. “I thought, wow, this is what I want to do.”
That spark became a guiding light. She graduated UCLA summa cum laude with a degree in psychology—a member of the first generation in her family to earn a four-year degree. Keshishyan then returned to community college to complete pre-requisite pharmacy courses. She aced courses at PCC, Glendale Community College, UC San Diego Extension and UCLA Extension—all while working as a tutor.
Keshishyan began tutoring at PCC’s STEM Center, helping students in subjects from biology and genetics to physiology and organic chemistry. Then she expanded to private coaching for middle school and high school students. “Tutoring helps so much—you’re constantly relearning the material,” Keshishyan says.
She also began researching pharmacy schools. “Of course, USC was on top of the list.”
When she enrolled at the USC Mann School in August 2021, she vowed to graduate with a perfect GPA.
Fast forward to 2025, and Keshishyan will graduate the USC PharmD program having achieved that goal—one of only two students in the graduating class of 178 to do so.
She achieved this by leaning into the learning style that worked for her—speaking concepts out loud as though teaching them to someone else. “I’m an auditory learner,” she explains. She never procrastinates, starts studying early, and swears by a physical planner to stay on top of everything. “It’s all about doing as much as you can in the 24 hours you have.”
Her third-year scholarly project reflected her interest in how students learn: She assessed how the flipped classroom model affected student outcomes at USC Mann.
She’s had several mentors along the way. During a community pharmacy rotation at Ralphs Pharmacy on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, she worked under Jan Marie Salcido, PharmD ’14, who in 2023 was named a top 10 pharmacist nationally for her devotion to keeping patients healthy. “She’s probably the best preceptor I’ve ever had,” Keshishyan notes. “She’s so patient-centered.”
At Huntington Hospital, Keshishyan worked under pharmacist Christopher Lam for three years, training interns and later co-presenting research at the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists Seminar in 2024. “I really love the connection I was able to make there,” she says.
But her final year brought challenges beyond the classroom. In January 2025, the Altadena wildfires destroyed her family’s Kinneloa Mesa home near Eaton Canyon. Amid the devastation, though, she found emotional and financial support from the USC community.
“One thing that will really stick with me is how USC and the USC Mann Office of Student Affairs responded,” she says. “They cared and checked up on me.”
To commemorate her academic achievement, Keshishyan will lead the processional into the USC Mann Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 16, as flag bearer. “Ani has made her mark here at USC Mann by consistently demonstrating academic excellence,” says Kari Franson, senior associate dean for academic and student affairs.
Now 29, Keshishyan is preparing to take her board exams and begin a PGY1 residency at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center—the place where her passion for pharmacy first ignited.
Before residency begins, though, she’s looking forward to celebrating with her family and friends at commencement. “I have a big list of people I’m hoping I can get in,” she admits. “They know me as the person who’s always studying, so they’ve been waiting for this moment.”
