SAN BENITO — Thomas Garza loves what he does.
He grew up in his father’s pharmacy so it was natural for him to one day work as a town pharmacist just like his dad.
Garza, 29, started working in the pharmacy in June 2012.
“For me, pharmacy is something I enjoyed already because I grew up in the pharmacy,” Garza said. “My dad has owned this store for over 38 years.”
Garza said he was always proud and it inspired him when he saw his father’s patients look up to him, respect him, ask him questions about medicine and trust him.”
He said he was really blessed he had the opportunity to witness his father work while growing up.
“So when I was going to college, I said to myself, I really wanted to go into a health profession,” Garza said. “I wanted to interact with patients and I wanted to help folks, and at the same time earning a good living to take care of my family.”
He thought of going into dentistry or to become a doctor, but it was pharmacy he said was his calling.
Garza said he enjoys working with his father, David Garza, and hopes his dad continues to work for as long as he wants at the pharmacy.
“It’s his store and I wanted to join him and be the best team player for him,” Garza said. “It would be my dream to one day take over for him.”
He said he plans to stay in San Benito and eventually continue the business.
“San Benito is home for me,” Garza said.
Garza said if young people are interested in this kind of career, they need to job shadow.
“Some type of mentorship is crucial, so they can see for one, it can be done and two, that they really want to do it,” Garza said. “You don’t want to commit to a job if you’re not going to enjoy it.”
Most days, Garza is behind the counter getting prescriptions ready for clients, helping with immunizations, and talking to clients who come into the Medicine Shop.
Or he’s sending clients text messages when prescriptions are ready and monitoring the website and mobile application where his customers log on to order refills.
“I push it a little harder at times since I grew up in the technology era so we stay up to date,” Garza said.
He said his dad has had computers in the store since 1981, so we have always been pro-technology and on the cutting edge.
“It’s just a blessing that I get to hang out with my dad most of the week and learn from him,” Garza said.
