Maryia Astapenka on Reinvention, Resilience, and Building a Values-Led Career

For Maryia Astapenka, professional progress has not meant following a single, predetermined route. Her path has crossed countries, cultures, and disciplines, moving from the study of management and culturology in Belarus to clinical pharmacy in the United States and, ultimately, to compliance leadership and entrepreneurship in the life sciences.

The transitions were substantial, but they were not disconnected. Each chapter added knowledge that Maryia now brings to her work as Director of Compliance and co-founder of SOKOL GxP Services. Across those changes, she has remained guided by continuous learning, meaningful work, integrity, and a desire to make a positive impact.

Beginning again in a new country

Born and raised in Belarus, Maryia earned her first bachelor’s degree in Management and Culturology. After moving to the United States, she chose to enter healthcare, a markedly different professional direction. Starting again required her to navigate not only a new field, but also a new country and culture.

She completed pre-allied health studies at Bucks County Community College before earning a Doctor of Pharmacy degree through Temple University School of Pharmacy’s Advanced Clinical Practice Track. She graduated summa cum laude, was named to the Dean’s List, and received recognition through the Rho Chi Society, the academic honor society in pharmacy.

Maryia then completed a postgraduate year one pharmacy residency at St. Mary Medical Center, along with a Teaching and Learning Certificate through the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. These experiences helped her develop clinical knowledge while strengthening her abilities in education, research, and collaboration.

From individual care to broader systems

In clinical pharmacy, Maryia worked with patients receiving treatment for hematologic malignancies, bone marrow transplantation, and cell therapy. Her responsibilities also extended beyond direct care. She participated in clinical research, professional education, and interdisciplinary initiatives concerned with patient safety and therapeutic outcomes.

This work gave her a close view of how healthcare decisions affect individuals. It also prompted a growing interest in the larger structures surrounding those decisions: the quality systems, regulatory expectations, operational processes, and organizational practices that help healthcare and life sciences teams perform responsibly.

Rather than treating that interest as separate from her clinical background, Maryia used it as a bridge into a different kind of work. Her pharmacy experience provided a practical foundation for understanding why quality and compliance matter. The transition allowed her to approach organizational systems with an awareness of their connection to patient care, scientific integrity, and professional accountability.

Bringing multiple disciplines into entrepreneurship

Today, Maryia is Director of Compliance and a co-founder of SOKOL GxP Services, a consulting company supporting pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and cell therapy organizations. Her responsibilities span regulatory compliance, quality management, business operations, and strategic development.

Building a company has required another expansion of her skill set. Alongside technical and regulatory work, entrepreneurship has asked her to consider organizational development, risk, planning, and sustainable operations. It brings together elements of her earlier education in management, her clinical training, and her commitment to quality within the life sciences.

That combination is central to how Maryia views professional reinvention. A change in direction does not necessarily erase what came before. Experience from one setting can inform judgment in another, even when the roles appear very different on paper. Her career illustrates how varied knowledge can become an asset when it is connected by a clear set of values.

Identity and impact beyond work

Maryia’s connection to Belarus also remains an important part of her life. She is involved in the Belarusian-American community and supports initiatives that promote democracy, human rights, and the preservation of Belarusian culture. This engagement reflects her belief that professional growth and cultural identity do not have to compete with one another.

Her story may be especially relevant to women managing major transitions, establishing careers in a new country, or considering a path unlike the one they first imagined. Maryia’s experience does not present change as effortless. Instead, it underscores the resilience, determination, adaptability, and willingness to enter unfamiliar territory that meaningful change can demand.

The through line is not a job title or industry. It is a readiness to keep learning while remaining connected to purpose. For Maryia, starting over was not a rejection of her previous path. It became a way to carry its lessons forward and build work that integrates healthcare, business, quality, and community commitment.