April 17, 2025
Detroit-area twins Sean and Stephen Bly gaining hands-on skills in Ferris State College of Pharmacy - together
Sean and Stephen Bly have always lived life side by side.
The 24-year-old twins from Harper Woods attended Grosse Pointe North High School together, earned undergraduate degrees at Michigan State University together, and now find themselves on the cutting-edge of healthcare together in Ferris State University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program.
“People like to say I followed Stephen into pharmacy,” said Sean Bly, laughing. “But really, we found it together. And doing it together makes it even more meaningful.”
Despite the Blys many shared milestones, their journeys into pharmacy weren’t always aligned.
“Becoming a surgeon was my first passion,” Stephen Bly said. “But the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) scared me off a little. I started exploring other options as I was finishing my medical laboratory science degree at MSU and pharmacy just made sense — it felt like the next best thing.”
Sean’s path was different. With a degree in human biology, he had once envisioned a career in pathology.
“I liked the idea of working in a lab in a hospital,” Sean said. “But over time, it no longer interested me. When Stephen started talking about pharmacy, I thought it sounded fun. But I didn’t want to commit to something without knowing what I was getting into.”
That uncertainty led both brothers to take a gap year after graduating from MSU in 2023. They used the time to work in pharmacies back home, gaining first-hand experience that cemented their decision to pursue the field. “We just fell in love with it,” Stephen said.
Each brother spent a year in a different pharmacy in suburban Detroit. Stephen at Rite Aid and then a Walgreens specialty pharmacy, focusing on serving patients with chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and cancer; Sean at a Walgreens located inside Detroit Medical Center, where he interacted with patients being discharged.
Their experiences during that gap year solidified not only their desire to become pharmacists but also their decision to attend Ferris State. Its College of Pharmacy is the largest of just three in the state and has had an exceptional reputation for more than a century.
“Ferris State’s College of Pharmacy is one of the very best in the nation and will continue serving students for many years to come,” Dean Stephen Durst said. “We’re proud of the work of our faculty and staff, but also of the thousands of graduates who are serving their communities on the cutting edge of healthcare.”
The Ferris State Pharmacy doctoral program is a four-year path, with two years in Big Rapids, one on Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile, and a final year of rotations at locations across the state.
Now near the end of their first year, the twin brothers are thriving in the classroom
and on campus. They take nearly all the same classes — except for one elective — and
often rely on each other when studying for exams.
“It’s like having a built-in study buddy since we live together,” Stephen said. “We
balance each other out. Sometimes he knows things I don’t and vice versa.”
They’ve also carved out time for life beyond the books. Both are active in Kappa Psi, a professional pharmacy fraternity, participate in intramural sports like volleyball and soccer, and play golf.
The Bly brothers are already looking ahead, with hopes of working as pharmacists in
Michigan after graduation.
Their bond as brothers has helped carry them through the challenges of the program,
and while they admit to the occasional “petty argument,” their shared journey has
only made them closer.
“We love the Ferris State program and know we made the right decision coming here,” Sean said.