IPPC Indigenous Pharmacy Scholarship by BioScript Solutions
2024-25 PharmD Scholarship Recipient

Kelvin Magun
University of British Columbia

Kelvin Magun has aspired to be part of the health-care community since he was in high school, when he began volunteering at the local public health centre in his home nation of the Kaska Dene. In 2020, he completed a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Biology, and he is currently enrolled in his first year of the PharmD program, both at the University of British Columbia. With his combined work and educational experience, Kelvin is committed to promoting healthier relationships between Canada and First Nation governments, while taking the land and health into special consideration.

Kelvin grew up on the land and was fascinated by traditional medicines and the health of his surroundings. He is determined to combine his pharmacy education with the traditional knowledge of the local medicinal fauna to support health care in First Nation communities. “I have personally experienced the hardship of rotating health professionals in my remote community, and the difficult situations that arise without having a permanent pharmacist,” he explains. “I am driven to successfully complete the PharmD program to ensure my elders and nation are better taken take of in terms of their health and well-being, and I hope that all the traditional knowledge passed down to me from my elders and through Kaska Traditions can help overcome many challenges in today’s health-care and pharmaceutical systems.”

Kelvin has served as a youth representative with Assembly of First Nation’s National Youth Council and with Natural Resources Canada’s first Youth Council. These roles have given him a greater sense of responsibility for the communal health of the young and First Nation communities. “Leadership and being active with my local communities has given me precious skills to be successful in my dreams of being a big part of the First Nation health-care community,” he says.

This scholarship has been generously supported by BioScript Solutions.