seasons
2016-summer
2016-summer
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McWHORTER SCHOOL OF PHARMACY<br />
Cardinal Scholarship<br />
Helps White Own an<br />
Independent Pharmacy<br />
by Robin DeMonia<br />
In 2012, Kacie White became McWhorter School of<br />
Pharmacy’s first winner of the Cardinal Scholarship,<br />
which helps seniors pursuing careers in independent<br />
pharmacies.<br />
Four years later, White is fulfilling the scholarship’s vision<br />
and her childhood dreams.<br />
She owns Cowart Drugs, a 96-year-old independent<br />
pharmacy in Calera, Alabama, that White’s family had patronized<br />
throughout her life and that she’d worked in since age 15.<br />
“Everything worked out perfectly,” White said. “Just about<br />
the time I was planning to graduate, the owner of the pharmacy<br />
was getting ready to retire.”<br />
It was an opportunity long in the making. As part of a<br />
long-ago school project about her career dreams, White interviewed<br />
Cowart’s previous owner, Theresa Harris. Harris offered<br />
that day to hire White when she was old enough to work. As a<br />
result, White went to work for Cowart Drugs as a cashier before<br />
she could drive, and she continued to work there during her<br />
college summers and holidays. Before White had even been<br />
accepted to pharmacy school, Harris asked whether she’d be<br />
interested in buying Cowart Drugs.<br />
“She didn’t want it sold to a chain, and she wanted to keep a<br />
local person to take over,” White said. “She had other opportunities<br />
to sell the store before I finished up with pharmacy school, but she<br />
knew I wanted this so bad. She waited until I finished to sell it.”<br />
White’s dream got a boost from McWhorter School of<br />
Pharmacy’s inaugural scholarship from Cardinal Health of Ohio, a<br />
Fortune 500 health care services company that distributes pharmaceuticals<br />
and medical products. The scholarship supported her<br />
senior year of study and also provided mentoring resources.<br />
“The Cardinal Scholarship definitely helped,” White said.<br />
After graduating in 2013, White worked alongside Harris for a<br />
year, and then bought the business — a time she describes as both<br />
satisfying and intense.<br />
“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve worked in a pharmacy<br />
before. That first day you’re by yourself is like, ‘Wow, this is real,’”<br />
White said. “However, it’s one of the greatest feelings because you<br />
have worked so hard for that day.”<br />
Kacie White now owns Cowart Drugs.<br />
Since buying Cowart Drugs two years ago, White has made<br />
small improvements and continued to build relationships with<br />
customers, a number of whom have known her for years. She is<br />
humbled that “they ask for me personally and miss me when I’m<br />
not there.”<br />
Still, her time at Cowart Drugs has not been without<br />
challenges.<br />
“The first year was definitely hard, not so much with the<br />
pharmacy part of it, but mostly the business side,” she said. “I’m<br />
still learning more about the business side each day. . . . Nowadays,<br />
you have to offer other services to your customers to bring in<br />
revenue, because dispensing alone won’t get it anymore.”<br />
She remains involved in the Cardinal Scholarship program,<br />
serving on the selection committee and encouraging interested<br />
students to apply.<br />
As for her own plans, White doesn’t rule out opening another<br />
store. But for now, she is happy where she is, which is where she<br />
always wanted to be. “I’ve been more blessed than I ever thought<br />
possible,” White said. ◗<br />
26 • Seasons • Summer 2016 • College of Health Sciences Newsletter