Getting to know Marita Prieto
La Jara native, City Market Pharmacist and 2000 REC Four-Year Scholarship winner Marita (Valdez) Prieto (pictured at right) believes healthcare in the Valley is very much underserved. “Being able to serve this community by being a consistent source for patients for advice and healthcare has been extremely fulfilling,” she commented.
Marita’s father owns La Jara Pharmacy, so she spent a lot of time in the pharmacy as a child. “I remember observing my dad interacting with customers and noticing how they trusted him and really sought out his advice,” she recalls.
As she got older, Marita started working at the pharmacy as a cashier and then later as a pharmacy technician. She got to see firsthand the role a pharmacist can make in patient care. She also really enjoyed interacting and helping people, so she decided to begin her journey toward a doctorate degree in pharmacy.
With the help of the SLVREC scholarship, Marita completed her undergraduate at Adams State, then graduated from the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy in May 2009. “I was the third member of my family to graduate from the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy and the first to obtain a doctorate in pharmacy.”
Following graduation, Marita worked at Stout Street Clinic in Denver, which provides care for the homeless population. After a year, a position as a staff pharmacist at Alamosa’s City Market Pharmacy became available giving Marita an opportunity to move back to the Valley.
“Wanting to be closer to family and to raise our kids in a smaller community, my husband and I decided to move back home in June 2010. I have been at City Market since then,” she said. She started managing in May 2020 and has also provided relief work at Alamosa Pharmacy and La Jara Pharmacy from time to time.
Marita stated that “the REC scholarship gave me a tremendous amount of financial help with school and played a vital role in helping me reach my career goal. Being selected for the full-ride scholarship also showed me that I had a community that believed in me and was willing to invest in me and my desire to help people with a career in healthcare. I was very honored to receive that scholarship and knew that I needed to do my best because of that support.”
Marita enjoys making connections with her patients and being able to make some part of their day better if she can.
Her and her husband Aaron have three children, and she loves to hike and be in the mountains during her free time.