RSU Student of the Year 2022 - Elvis Pumpurs

Elvis Pumpurs is an active 5th-year student in the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Pharmacy programme. The Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy Prof. Dace Bandere describes Pumpurs as a very cooperative student, who is happy to take initiative and participate in various events to promote the faculty.

The RSU Annual Awards were presented at the Academic Ball on 10 September 2022 at the Riga Latvian Society House. The award for Student of the Year was presented to Elvis Pumpurs by RSU Rector Prof. Aigars Pētersons

Pumpurs parents supported his choice to study pharmacy, because he was good at chemistry and biology in secondary school. ‘I am very grateful that I am at the Faculty of Pharmacy at RSU. The revelation that I was in the right place came in my 3rd year of studies,’ says the award winner.

‘The main thing that attracts me to pharmacy is the opportunity it gives me to help people.’

Alongside his studies, Pumpurs works in a pharmacy and at Riga Secondary School No. 49, where he teaches chemistry to both primary and secondary school pupils. Since autumn last year, Pumpurs has been a senior laboratory technician at the RSU Department of Applied Pharmacy.

Pumpurs founded and now leads the Pharmacology Interest Group at RSU and has presented the results of a research paper he wrote at two international conferences. He is also active in the Student Union (Studējošo pašpārvalde, SP), where he is involved in the mentoring programme, and in the Council of the Faculty of Pharmacy. Moreover, Pumpurs teaches prospective RSU students at the Young Doctors' Academy.

‘Elvis is a very talented student,’ says the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Prof. Baiba Mauriņa. ’His talent manifests in his ability to spark pupils’ and young students’ interest in pharmacy and pharmacognosy, a branch of pharmacy that deals with medicinal plants.’

In his spare time, Pumpurs travels, climbs mountains, and dances Latvian folk dance. In the future, he plans to take his life and career to new heights and explore the world, as well as continue working in academia, because working with students is something that he particularly enjoys.

‘The pharmaceutical industry is exciting and ever-changing and I encourage everyone to get involved!’