March 26, 2026

‘Fast nickels are better than slow dollars’: Why Patti Keim’s Ferris State Pharmacy experience inspires her to help students on One Day for Dawgs

Patti Keim didn't grow up dreaming of college.

As a first-generation student, higher education wasn't on her radar until a teacher asked her about plans after high school. That simple question changed Keim’s path. All from an educator who saw potential in a high school senior volunteering to help fourth graders learn math.

That teacher connected Keim with a teaching sorority scholarship, which opened the door to junior college and, ultimately, Ferris State University. She has spent decades honoring that path from first-generation student to full-fledged pharmacist.

At Ferris State, Keim found more than a degree in pharmacy, she found a community that wanted her to succeed. She took advantage of free tutoring, worked in the campus labs, and leaned on professors who genuinely cared. After graduating, she set a five-year goal: to own a pharmacy – a goal she hit right on schedule.

Keim owned and operated her own pharmacy for 25 years. Her pharmacy practice earned a reputation for supporting and helping Ferris State pharmacy students. So much so that program faculty would send students who needed extra guidance and mentorship her way. A point of pride for Keim was being able to help every single student who came through her doors.

She still helps students and serves the university today as a dedicated donor, alumni board member, and passionate advocate for the students who remind her of herself.

Keim's philosophy is disarmingly simple: stay curious, stay humble, and pay attention to the people around you. She learned this early. A kind professor at Ferris offered her free tutoring and a lab position during her studies, and she remembers to pay those interactions forward.

Each interaction, she said, added a thread to the fabric of her success.

"Everyone can teach you something," Keim said.

The Ferris State legacy didn't stop with Keim. Both of her children followed in her footsteps to attend Ferris State. Her daughter is now a specialized endocrinology pharmacist; her son works for Whiting-Turner and credits his Ferris State professors and resources with shaping his career.

"They both loved their Ferris experience," Keim said. “Being part of this Ferris State family means giving back to make sure the resources that have helped generations of Bulldogs graduate and find careers, will be around for generations longer.”

It's a testament to what she believes so deeply – the investment that Ferris State makes in students pays dividends for generations and is worth supporting.

When asked what first inspired her to give back to Ferris State, Keim laughed: "Well, who else was I going to give it to? They educated me. They helped me in some of the roughest years of my life."

She made her first gift in 1991, just $25. But she has never stopped. Today she serves on both the Pharmacy Alumni Board and the broader Alumni Association Board, giving not only financially but with her time, her voice, and her story.

She is particularly passionate about opportunity funds and emergency assistance programs, the last-resort funding that keeps struggling students from dropping out.

"I was that student," she said. "And people helped me. Why shouldn't I do the same now?"

For Keim, Ferris State's annual One Day for Dawgs giving day holds special significance.

"That money all goes directly to students," she said. "You see the real impact of donations. You can trace how that helps people, one-to-one."

She has done her part to spread the word, recording a promotional video last year and regularly urging colleagues and fellow alumni to simply share the cause on social media.

"We share all kinds of stuff online all the time. Why not share something that can actually do some good?" Keim said.

This year, Ferris State set an ambitious target of surpassing $300,000 during the one-day giving event. Keim has a message for any Bulldog on the fence: "In 1991 I gave $25 to start everything off. There's an old saying – fast nickels are better than slow dimes. Every gift makes a difference."

Keim recalled President Bill Pink once described Ferris State students with three words: scruffy, tough, scrappy. It resonated with Keim immediately.

"It just really captures that Bulldog spirit. And it's super true,” she said.

The Bulldog spirit is a lifestyle that Patti Keim has embodied her entire life. From a first-generation student who didn't know college was possible, to a pharmacist, mentor, donor, and now an unwavering champion for the next generation of Bulldogs.