NOW and its practitioner brand Protocol for Life Balance (PFLB) have joined the Sonoran University of Health Sciences Student Vendor Representative Program, which is designed to provide students with professional development.

The company will have a dedicated sales rep at Sonoran University whose role is to educate students about both Protocol for Life Balance and NOW products, which will also be in the dispensary at the school.

NOW said the program is directly aligned with the overall mission of the University: “Sonoran University of Health Sciences shapes a healthier future by supporting students as they train to excel as healthcare professionals, by enhancing the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities, and by discovering effective treatments for humanity grounded in the healing power of nature.”

Sonoran University considers this an innovative career-building program that benefits all of its stakeholders: student, university, company, and the profession.

“NOW/PFLB and Sonoran University share the mission to support evidence-based practice and science,” said NOW Director of Science and Nutrition Yalda Shokooh, PharmD, PhD. “We hope that this partnership, and being able to educate students and faculty alike about our brands and our high-quality products, will be fruitful for years to come.”

Shokooh has been affiliated with Sonoran University since 2019 as a professor of pharmacognosy and phytochemistry and a principal scientist. She continues to serve as an adjunct professor.

Debbi Taylor, career services manager for Sonoran, said the University’s Student Vendor Program “creates valuable partnerships between the University and leading natural products companies as well as provides students — who serve as ambassadors of these companies — with professional development through training, networking, marketing, product knowledge, and income.”