UC student finds support on a challenging road

Nahyung Lee Nur, Pharm ’25, remembers being a few months from starting her second year in the University of Cincinnati's James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.

She and her husband, a resident in family medicine at the UC College of Medicine, were going to have a baby.

“We were kind of crazy,” Lee recalls with a laugh. “We were thinking, ‘We can do this.’ And then we had the child, and we were like, ‘Oh, this is hard.’ It’s amazing how much work a child is. You see the cute videos of babies sleeping. But there were a lot of sleepless nights.”

Today, Lee is approaching graduation, her husband is a family medicine physician at a local hospital, and their child is a thriving toddler. Scholarships provided by UC have helped make their journey much more manageable by allowing her to work fewer hours while the couple absorbed living expenses and medical school debt.

“UC has helped a lot with my tuition burden,” Lee says. “The financial aid and scholarships enabled me to spend more time with my child and have a better school-life balance.”

To those who supported her scholarships, she offers sincere thanks.

“I hope donors understand how much of an impact they have made in helping me be able to enjoy raising my child and, at the same time, focus on my career and enjoy being in pharmacy school without being pressed with monetary burdens. The recognition and support from UC have been instrumental in my achievements, reflecting the encouragement and resources that have driven me to work hard and succeed.”

Lee is also thankful for the flexibility her professors granted while she navigated the challenges of caring for an infant. Unable to access daycare for much of the baby’s first year, she was able to watch lectures from home while also keeping an eye on her child.

“They try to understand your situation without being too lenient. You still have to do everything you need to do, but the professors understand that you have needs outside of the classroom as well, which is a good balance.”

Experiential learning has enhanced Lee’s education at UC. She coordinated a blood drive that involved the colleges of pharmacy, nursing and medicine. A research project found her exploring a national database to identify risk factors that contribute to depression in people with type 2 diabetes.

Following graduation, she hopes to perform a residency in a clinical setting. Long-term, she aspires to a position where she interacts with patients and provides optimal treatment options. “I like making everything better,” she says. “Hopefully, I will get a position where I get to work in a clinic and help patients with their therapy management.”

Lee is a woman of the world. She was born in Zimbabwe where her parents worked as missionaries, and she attended college in South Korea. Seeking a new cultural experience, she came to America in 2017 as an exchange student. She found the culture to her liking and, through a mutual friend, was introduced to another international student who would eventually become her husband.

Featured image at top: Nahyung Lee Nur is a student in UC's James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. Photo/UC Alumni Association