Pharmacist, entrepreneur, and community advocate Mayank Amin PharmD’09, MBA, was presented with the Young Alumnus Award at University of the Sciences’ Alumni Reunion on Saturday, Oct. 24. The award is presented to an individual under the age of 40 who has graduated from USciences within the last 15 years, and has contributed in an outstanding fashion to his or her profession, science, and/or mankind.

Since graduation, Amin has reached new heights with his entertainment background and served as the stand-in double for actor Dev Patel in the Hollywood feature, "The Last Airbender." He has also danced in numerous Bollywood features and launched his event planning company, Platinum Dream Events, L.L.C., whose clients include the Philadelphia Phillies.

Meanwhile, he has not lost focus on his pharmacy profession and passion to give back to the community. Soon after Amin earned his doctor of pharmacy degree in 2009, he began his work as a full-time rotating pharmacist for Walgreens, where he was assigned to various store locations spanning Philadelphia to Lancaster. His responsibilities, however, included more than just filling prescriptions. He volunteered to do community outreach work and played a key role in boosting immunization rates in underprivileged communities. 

But pharmacist work involves weekend hours, which interfered with something else Amin is passionate about—working with youth in his community. So while continuing with Walgreens on a per-diem basis, Amin secured a traditional 9-to-5 job as a safety surveillance associate at Pfizer in 2011.

He is involved with BAPS Charities, an international non-profit where he established one of the largest curriculum-based children’s health and safety days notably recognized by the National Institute of Health’s We Can! initiative and First Lady Michelle Obama’s, “Let’s Move” campaign. Since its inception in 2010, the program has been implemented across dozens of locations throughout North America, reaching out to more than 10,000 participants.

Amin’s ability to champion innovation and creativity while culminating change has landed him features in several publications, such as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Forbes, Pharmacy Times, Walgreens World, and Pfizer 365. He is particularly proud of the Amin Legacy at USciences, which includes his older brother and mentor Dipun Amin MBA’10.