Breaking Out of My Shell, Broadening My Horizons, and Becoming Someone Who Contributes to Society Through Healthcare.
Inspired by her childhood experience with asthma, she aspired to become a pharmacist. After seeing the inspiring presence of senior students at the Shiba-Kyoyaku Festival she visited in junior high school, she decided to apply to the Department of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Keio University. Since enrolling, she has continued to challenge herself to break out of her shell as a shy person, including participating as a finalist in a beauty pageant. Now, having broadened her horizons through various inspirations from those around her, she is looking beyond just becoming a pharmacist and is forming a grand vision for her future.
Writer Profile
Yuko Takenaka
Faculty of Pharmacy 4th year, Department of Pharmacy (As of October 2026)*Interview conducted in March 2026, while in the 3rd year of the Department of Pharmacy.
Yuko Takenaka
Faculty of Pharmacy 4th year, Department of Pharmacy (As of October 2026)*Interview conducted in March 2026, while in the 3rd year of the Department of Pharmacy.
It all started with an admiration for a kind pharmacist I met in my childhood. Seeing the inspiring presence of senior students at the Shiba-Kyoyaku Festival led me to Keio's Faculty of Pharmacy.
I suffered from asthma starting at the age of two, experienced hospital stays during kindergarten, and spent my days unable to go anywhere without an inhaler until the upper grades of elementary school. I believe the origin of my desire to pursue a career in healthcare was the admiration I felt for a kind pharmacist who taught my young self how to use that inhaler in an easy-to-understand way.
The catalyst for my decision to aim for the Department of Pharmacy (6-year program) at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University, was the Shiba-Kyoyaku Festival, a campus festival I visited when I was in my third year of junior high school. When I had the chance to experience an experiment on campus and saw the senior students learning so vibrantly, I felt, "I want to study here for six years, too." The vague admiration I had until then turned into a concrete goal from that day forward, and my approach to studying for entrance exams changed as well. Since I had always liked science subjects, I took on the university entrance exams with the desire to acquire medical expertise at Keio's Faculty of Pharmacy.
I wanted to change my shy personality before entering society. Driven by that desire, I challenged myself with a beauty pageant, social media outreach, and early morning part-time work.
I have always been introverted and shy, but I wanted to change that part of myself before entering society, so I took on various challenges. The biggest challenge so far might be the beauty pageant. I wasn't good at having my photo taken or speaking in public, and I struggled with social media posts at first. I finally started to enjoy posting after I began sharing the daily life and study methods of a pharmacy student on Instagram. I began receiving messages of empathy from pharmacy students across the country saying things like, "Let's work hard together," which made me realize the significance of sharing information.
Working part-time at a cafe was also a challenge for my shy self. On days I have work, I wake up at 4:00 a.m. and work before my classes or labs begin. Since it is hard to predict when pharmacy lab sessions will end, I chose early mornings instead of nights to ensure I could secure my working hours. Working and moving my body in the morning serves as a good change of pace for my afternoon classes.
When exams approach, I study in the university library after class until it closes, but I make sure to relax once I get home. I try to lead a balanced life by making effective use of my time.
I want to deepen my expertise in pharmacy and contribute to society through healthcare. Finding a path to the future from the options I discovered through challenges to change myself.
Through about six months of activity in the beauty pageant, I learned that there are many more jobs in the world than I had imagined. Although I entered Keio's Faculty of Pharmacy aspiring to be a pharmacist, I am now consciously trying not to be too restricted by the framework of being a pharmacist. I have come to believe that it is important to consider my career from a broader perspective, rather than narrowing down my future vision to a single specific occupation right now. In the upcoming process of choosing a research laboratory, I intend to look for a field that I can pursue with passion.
However, I believe my fundamental core—wanting to become a person who can contribute to society through healthcare by utilizing the pharmaceutical knowledge I am learning at university—remains unshaken. The field of pharmacy connects to a wide range of industries and occupations.
Over these six years, I want to clearly identify where my interests lie and what my strengths are. And, just like the pharmacist who helped me when I was young, I want to grow into someone who can support people's health with specialized knowledge in pharmacy.
Keio's Faculty of Pharmacy is a place where you can grow together with peers who inspire each other. To an environment where you can take a courageous step forward and meet a new version of yourself.
I believe Keio University is a place where students full of challenging spirit proactively deepen their learning toward their own goals. Around me, there are many peers who are remarkably active not only in their studies but also in sports and other extracurricular activities. By being inspired by them, I have become more positive and able to dive into challenging choices more than I was before entering the university, thinking, "I should be able to work even harder."
Prospective students might be feeling anxiety or impatience right now. Even so, what is important is your vision for the future—what kind of path you want to take and what kind of peers you want to grow with through friendly competition. Once your goal becomes clear, it becomes the power to keep putting in the effort.
Keio's Faculty of Pharmacy provides an environment where you can encounter a new version of yourself. I sincerely support all of you so that you can carve out a career path that you are satisfied with. I look forward to the day when I can study together with you on this campus.