Audra Butler

Audra Butler grew up in the small town of Cheraw, South Carolina, on the fall line of the Pee Dee River. She always valued living in a close-knit community, and from a young age she knew that she eventually wanted to serve her community in a healthcare capacity, though it wasn’t always clear how.

It was her father who suggested pharmacy.

Butler was in high school, and she decided to give it a try by shadowing at a local independent pharmacy in her hometown. She immediately fell in love with the profession, carefully building her academic foundation with the hopes of one day becoming a pharmacist. These plans were cemented during her junior year of college when her mother had a double-transplant.

“I saw exactly how important medicine was for my mother after her transplant,” says Butler. “I knew I was pursuing the right field for me.”
When the time came for her to select a pharmacy school to spend the next four years, Butler chose Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy (PCSP) because of the instant feeling of home she got during her interview. In addition to the small-town atmosphere similar to her hometown, she was drawn to the school’s service mindset and the willingness to help from staff and professors.

“I knew I wanted a smaller school that would allow me to interact with my professors one-on-one and have many different opportunities as a student pharmacist,” says Butler. “That’s exactly what I got [at PC], and so much more.”
The “so much more” is, in fact, so much more—Butler has been incredibly active at PCSP since starting in 2021.

Audra Butler in PCSP White Coat

She is president of the Class of 2025 (spring 2023-present) and treasurer of Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Society (PLS). She is the ambassador coordinator for the PCSP student ambassadors and president of the Presbyterian College Pediatric Pharmacy Association (PC PPA). She is the community service chair for the Student Society of Health System Pharmacy (PC SSHP) and was named Student Society of Health System Pharmacy Member of the Year in 2023. Butler is also the alumni chair for Kappa Epsilon Professional Pharmacy Fraternity (KE) and was named the Kappa Epsilon Beta Kappa Epsilon Member of the Year in 2022. As a result of her outstanding leadership, she was selected as the recipient of the PCSP 2023-2024 Leader of the Year Award.

As if these roles haven’t been keeping her busy enough, Butler has also participated in a number of pharmacy-based challenges as a student and is actively involved in two research projects. The first, “The Impact of Antihypertensive Medications on the Progression of Dementia,” is projected to be finished by early May 2024 and was completed under the guidance of Dr. Kathryn Peacock with classmate Kendall Taylor. The second, “Regulatory Insights: Examining the Landscape of State Policies that Allow Medication for Pharmacists with Substance Use Disorders,” was completed under the guidance of Dr. Mary Douglass Smith and has already been accepted for a poster presentation at three different events. Her scholarly productivity earned her the 2023-2024 Outstanding Student Research Award.

“PCSP was the best decision I could have made to further my education and follow my dreams,” says Butler, reflecting on her time in graduate school. “I have grown more as a student pharmacist, individual and leader than I could have ever expected.”

Following graduation, Butler plans to stay in the Upstate and serve in a rural or underserved area; she is obtaining her Rural Health Concentration at PCSP and will graduate as an Area Health Education Center Scholar. Butler will complete a pre-residency track during her 4th year at Self Regional Hospital in Greenwood, SC, aiming to expand her knowledge and experience on best serving rural communities.