Prince George, BC - UNBC women's soccer player Jessica Manning has made the difficult decision to relocate to Vancouver after being accepted into the pharmacy program at UBC. Support from her team and coach has influenced her decision to head south.

A Prince George native, Jessica Manning grew up playing soccer with the Prince George Youth Soccer Association (PGYSA) while dreaming of ways to accomplish both her soccer and academic goals. The soccer program at UNBC provided Manning with the ability to excel both athletically and academically. Through UNBC's science department Manning chipped away at the first and second year requirements needed to apply to UBC's pharmacy program.

"I took sciences and started working on my biology, chemistry, physics and calculus requirements. I added microbiology, organic chemistry and statistics to my second year course load, in order to allow for a lighter course load in my first year [at UBC],” said Manning about her course decisions. Applicants are able to apply to the program after one year of academic studies, however Manning decided to apply after her second year in order to play another season of varsity soccer.

Although a professional program like pharmacy might scare off some people, Manning feels prepared for the challenge. During university not only was she a full time student, and a member of the varsity soccer team but Manning also worked as a lifeguard for the City of Prince George in order to help pay her tuition. An Academic All-Canadian (full-time student who receives a 3.67 cumulative GPA as well as being a member of a varsity team) and a two year starter for the UNBC Timberwolves, Manning is no stranger to hard work.

"During my time at UNBC I was taking at least four courses, three labs, training four days a week with league games on the weekends, all while working as a part-time lifeguard,” said Manning, and that doesn't include time spent studying, or travelling for games.

From early on Manning knew that she wanted to pursue a career in the health field and work with people in the community, however medicine did not appeal to her. As she got older her interest in the sciences grew and pharmacology is where her two interests intersected. Manning grew up hoping to play varsity soccer while going to school to become a pharmacist. However, deciding on pharmacology seemed like an easy decision in comparison to deciding whether or not to stay at UNBC in order to complete her five years of eligibility with the women's soccer program.

"I told Andy back in September that there was no way I would go if I was accepted and that I would try and defer acceptance in order to play another year of soccer. But it’s difficult to defer acceptance and with all the changes happening to the pharmacy program I couldn't turn it down," said Manning.

Starting September 2015, the pharmacy program at UBC will change from a four year Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy with an additional two-year opportunity to pursue a PharmD post-baccalaurete degree, to a four year PharmD program. Currently the PharmD program is similar to graduate work, giving pharmacy students increased knowledge in specific areas of clinical pharmacology. The changes happening to the UBC program will likely increase both the entrance requirements as well as the cost of the program, making it harder to get accepted and also more costly. For Manning, this change means she will still be on the old curriculum with the option to pursue her PharmD after she graduates.

The choice to take the leap was not only spurred through the changes happening to the pharmacy program but also through the support women's soccer head coach was able to provide Manning.

"He was very supportive, he knew that I had applied. He told me that he was here to not only support us as soccer players but also to help us achieve our academic goals. I am very grateful that he has been so supportive and it has made the decision a lot easier," said Manning about head coach Andy Cameron.

Since he started at UNBC in May 2012, women's soccer head coach Andy Cameron has been a big proponent of his players achieving both on the pitch and in the classroom. For Cameron the academic component is equally as important as the athletic side.

"I try and encourage all my players to focus academically as well as athletically so that they can succeed after they leave UNBC," said Cameron. "We are very sad to see Jessica go from the soccer side of things, she is a hard worker and a good player who we will be looking to replace this fall but we are also very excited to see her move on towards her academic and professional goals. UNBC does not offer a pharmacy program and Jessica was always straight forward about wanting to go into pharmacology so this move did not come as a shock. As a team and a department we are all wishing her the best of luck."

Manning will start her new program at UBC in September while the UNBC Timberwolves women's soccer program will open up their regular season at home on September 6-7.

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