The two friends were chatting, as they鈥檝e been doing nearly daily for six years, since their first meeting on campus. Just bantering back and forth, on their phones in different places this time instead of in the dorm, at the end of a long day of clinical rotations in their final year of their pharmacy doctoral program. Sharing what their rotations were like, the things they were prepared for 鈥� and the things they were not.
And the idea hits Austin Lewerk, who says to his buddy Dylan Knapp: 鈥淗ey Dyl, it would be really great to be able to share our journey. I want to do a podcast.鈥�
鈥淚 paused for a second,鈥� Knapp said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 was like, okay, tell me more. And then, he sold me. I鈥檓 on board.鈥�
That鈥檚 how PharmZ was born. In the podcast launched in August 2023, Lewerk (pictured above, left) and Knapp (above, right)聽chat about life as聽Gen-Zers going through pharmacy school and contemplating their next steps. They speak candidly about their experiences and the things that have surprised them, things that fell short or exceeded聽their expectations 鈥� or were just聽plain unexpected.
It’s the kind of thing they would have listened to, they said, if someone had produced it when they started college.
鈥淲hen you come into pharmacy school, you’re 17, 18 years old. It’s scary,鈥� Knapp said. 鈥淲e wanted to be that voice to tell people, hey, it’s gonna be okay.鈥�
Knapp and Lewerk do that by complementing each other鈥檚 personalities and skill sets. In an episode titled 鈥淢idyear, Mickey, Madness!!!鈥�, about attending the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists鈥� Midyear Conference in Anaheim, Calif., Knapp talks about the high-energy atmosphere of the massive annual event.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 find it intimidating. I almost found it exciting,鈥� Knapp says in the December 2023 episode. 鈥淚 got to meet people from all across the country.鈥�
鈥淵ou were in your element. I鈥檓 quite the opposite,鈥� Lewerk responds. 鈥淚t was draining at first, but I loved every second of it.鈥�
That difference in their approach has been a key to their friendship 鈥� Knapp is more drawn to the limelight, and never worries that Lewerk will want to grab it, for instance. And it is something that makes them good podcast partners too, they said. Lewerk is more the behind-the-scenes analytical problem-solver, taking on such technical work as monitoring PharmZ鈥檚 audience reach. Knapp, whom Lewerk describes as the 鈥済o-getter,鈥� is more likely to be talking up the podcast and encouraging people to listen.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of yin and yang,鈥� Knapp said.
The pair believe PharmZ may be unique in its space. Sure, there are podcasts about pharmacy, but none they could find about the adventures of pharmacy students.
鈥淚 really got into listening to podcasts over the summer,鈥� Lewerk said. 鈥淎nd I was like, this might be a gap that we could potentially fill.鈥�
Perhaps it鈥檚 no surprise that two members of Generation Z thought of a podcast as a way to share their experience. Today鈥檚 college students grew up on the medium. According to Spotify, a major podcast platform, Gen-Zers turn to podcasts as 鈥渁 safe space to work through life鈥檚 most complex issues.鈥� They look to the medium for entertainment, of course, but also to learn and to escape.
Knapp and Lewerk said a podcast seemed natural to them. They simply recorded what they are prone to do naturally 鈥� banter affably.
The PharmZ partners conceded their rotation schedules got in the way of regular programming in the fall. But they are committed to producing more regular episodes this semester, now that they have the rhythm of rotations down. Listeners can expect episodes on preparing for graduation and the variety of career options in pharmacy 鈥� something they are learning in their rotations. Lewerk, for instance, is just completing a rotation in nuclear pharmacy, which he had not previously known about.
They intend to continue PharmZ after graduation. They both hope to be accepted to residency programs and to share what those are like. Why not? They鈥檙e going to be chatting about it anyway.
鈥淭his kind of allows us to stay in touch,鈥� Lewerk said.
You can find the on Spotify.聽
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