Noah Phillippe ’27
Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate – Healthcare Management Minor
Hometown: Avon

Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate Noah Phillippe ’27 has big plans for the future—plans that combine his pharmacy background with his passion for healthcare advocacy. When deciding between pharmacy schools, he chose Butler for its nationally respected Pharmacy program, close-knit campus, and faculty who cared about his goals both professionally and personally.

“Butler and the Pharmacy program is built to make you the best pharmacist you can be,” Noah says. “Everyone talks about the pass rates for our licensing exams—and they’re wonderful. But when it comes down to it, the Butler name gets you so far in Indiana and the greater United States because our pharmacists are really about being good humans, not just good providers.”

Noah says that throughout his time in the rigorous Pharmacy program, he’s experienced genuine faculty support along the way. As a competitive figure skater, he’s grateful for the professors who helped him navigate around his performance schedule. He saw that Pharmacy faculty also gave students advice from a place of both experience and empathy, remembering they were once pharmacy students themselves. 

“The advantage of our program is truly how involved our professors are,” he says. “I know every school says that, but I’m telling you, Butler does it so well: the faculty are so, so good and I appreciate all the work they put forward in a very lab-heavy, hands-on program.”

One of Noah’s favorite classes was his Therapeutics and Case Studies course, where every week he and his classmates analyzed a fake patient scenario, reviewed their complaint and medication list, optimized their medication regimen, developed a treatment and patient education plan, and decided on follow-up recommendations. He also appreciates how the program has a course dedicated to over-the-counter medications, a course he noticed was only offered as an elective at many other pharmacy schools.

Noah has also gained valuable experience through leadership roles in organizations such as Students of Color Allied in Healthcare (SOCAH), American Pharmacists Association-Association of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP), Industry Pharmacist Organizations (IPHO), and the Indiana Pharmacist’s Association’s Health Equity Council throughout his time at Butler.

“I didn’t really come into college with any big leadership experiences,” Noah says. “But I had friends and professors who actually reached out to me to say ‘Hey, this position is open and I feel like you’d be a good fit,’ and it gave me that little extra nudge to apply.”

These roles gave him a broader imagination for what he could do with his Pharmacy degree. For example, during his time as Vice President of Policy for APhA-ASP, Noah learned how to manage the organization’s bylaws and collaborated with the organization to host events like Policy Night. There, students discussed current policy resolutions, like using AI models in healthcare deserts. He also helped organize an event where pharmacy students could meet with legislators, document health screenings, and advocate for pharmacy professionals, a day that gave him a glimpse into what his own career in healthcare advocacy could look like. 

Noah also worked in a Director of Communications role for IPHO, which works to help students prepare for working in the pharmaceutical industry through opportunities such as tours of Eli Lilly headquarters and meeting Butler Pharmacy alumni. Noah enjoyed IPHO’s case competitions where students had to design their own imaginary drug: planning out clinical trials; naming the drug and creating the packaging and patient instruction inserts; meeting with the FDA; etc. to see what it’s like to bring a drug to market. 

All of these experiences have contributed to Noah’s passion for the pharmacy profession, patient safety, and healthcare policy.

“It’s definitely part of the Butler Way and our Pharmacy curriculum to have a patient-first mindset, understand what our role is, and how we can better ourselves as clinicians,” he says. “As for my personal aspirations, I am definitely going down the advocacy route and will be starting to study to take the LSAT. I’m planning to go to law school after I finish Pharmacy school to pursue healthcare advocacy and legislation.”