Sara defies challenges to graduate in pharmacology

Sara Hall fell in love with chemistry at high school in Dunedin.

“An assignment on aspirin opened my eyes to the world of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology,” she says. “I knew I wanted to learn everything I could about the drugs we take and how they work.”

When Sara enrolled for a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

While she loves learning, she’s always struggled with maths. Besides her dyscalculia, a condition which affects a person’s processing of numbers, Sara is managing dyslexia and Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder which can cause pain and extreme fatigue.

“Having to work what felt like so much harder than my peers to get only a fraction of the result was often really disheartening and made me feel like university just wasn’t for me,” she says.

“I would spend hours staring at a maths problem that my friends just instantly understood or I’d have silly typos in my reports which made them look less academic.”

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome added physical difficulties and fatigue.

“It often felt like I just had less hours in the day than my peers, so not only was I having to spend extra time just trying to understand the material but it felt like I had less time to do it,’ Sara says. “While my friends could do late campus study sessions, I knew I had to rest before making myself physically quite unwell.”

By managing her time and energy, Sara not only completed her degree, graduating in May 2026, but became a student leader.

In 2025, she served as president of both the student-led Chemistry Society and as educational vice president of the Student Association for the Medical Sciences (SAMS).

“Arguably most of my impact was with SAMS,” Sara says. “I would speak directly with students and faculty members to bridge communication gaps, advocating for students’ concerns.

Alongside her degree and her student leadership, Sara undertook language study and, outside of university, acted in two short films and was involved with a commercial shoot.

She’s extremely grateful to Student Disability Services and the faculties of Science and Medical and Health Sciences for working with her to address her challenges.

“All of my lecturers were so keen to help me in their spare time, which meant a lot.”

SDS and the faculties were flexible and committed to meeting her where she was, Sara says.

“At first I didn't know I could just ask for more help if I needed it, I thought there was an allowance. But as soon as I reached out everyone was so understanding.”

She’s now on a pharmacy technician course, excited to have a placement at Auckland City Hospital.