2023 Grad Spotlight: Allene Leonard

Allene Leonard has been a Certified Pharmacy Tech for 20 years and has been working as a Pharmacy Technician III at CaroMont Regional Medical Center for nearly seven years. She became a hospital pharmacy tech in 2016 after having worked in a retail pharmacy for 13 years, and she has climbed the ladder at CaroMont to reach the top pharmacy technician tier.   

“I was so excited when I found out that Gaston College was starting a Pharmacy Technology Associate Degree program,” said Allene. “North Carolina now allows pharmacy technicians with this degree to hold an advanced level pharmacy position, called a Pharmacy Validating Technician. This position holds responsibilities that go above and beyond the pharmacy technician role and I was eager to grow and advance my pharmacy career to the next level.” 

Allene joined the inaugural class of the Pharmacy Technology program in August 2021 and will graduate with her degree in May 2023. A single mother of two, it was a challenge for her to juggle work, school, and family responsibilities, but her hard work resulted in her maintaining a 4.0 GPA and earning an A in all of her classes. “I am so proud of myself for accomplishing this, and for being a member of the first graduating class of Pharmacy Technology students at Gaston College,” she said. “I can’t wait to walk across the stage at graduation with my children and family there to share in my accomplishment.” 

 Allene has accepted an advanced position as a Pharmacy Validating Technician at the new CaroMont hospital that will open later this year in Belmont, N.C. “I can’t wait to get started,” she said. “I am also excited to explore other possibilities that this degree offers, like possibly teaching in a Pharmacy Technology program.”