Called to pharmacy: How scholarships helped a non-traditional MUSC student walk a new path

Christine Buehner was pregnant with her second child when she walked away from a 10-year career as a high school English teacher.

“Although I loved teaching and my students, you take a ton of work home,” Christine said. “Since I taught AP Literature, I had students writing two to three essays a week. It was constant grading and answering emails.”

Eventually, she realized work was taking too much from her family. “I didn’t feel called to be a teacher anymore,” she said. “I thought there was a way to help people without also sacrificing my time and my family.”

When her husband asked what she would do if she could start over, she didn’t hesitate.

“I told him I’d be a pharmacist,” she said. “And he told me, ‘Then go be a pharmacist.’”

A personal calling to pharmacy

Why pharmacy? For three very personal reasons.

Christine’s path started with a painful struggle: four miscarriages and countless medications, with no one to guide her.

“I never understood what was happening to my body,” she said. “And I don’t want anyone else to feel that alone.”

Then came two more defining moments – one grandmother overwhelmed with 20 prescriptions from multiple doctors. Another who couldn’t afford her three essential medications.

“I had to call the manufacturers to help her get them covered,” Christine said. “That’s when I knew – this was the way I could help people.”

How MUSC scholarships helped a non-traditional pharmacy student

Christine spent two years completing prerequisites before entering MUSC’s College of Pharmacy in 2021. A mother of three young children, she balanced coursework, clinicals and caregiving – studying early mornings and late at night.

She and her husband paid tuition out of pocket for the first two years by sticking to a strict budget. But in the final two years, that was no longer an option.

“The cost of daycare was nuts,” she said. “And food prices kept going up.”

To finish school, they had to take out student loans. The loans, while helpful, created a new source of stress: student debt. “It felt almost impossible to find support – and just as overwhelming to think about graduating with a mound of debt,” she said.

Fortunately, Christine was able to find relief through the Pharmacy Network Foundation Scholarship, administered by the MUSC Foundation, which invests and manages donor-funded scholarships at MUSC. The $5,000 annual award, given to students pursuing retail pharmacy, helped lower Christine’s debt – and lifted a heavy emotional weight.

“This scholarship made it feel possible,” she said.

Giving back as a pharmacist – and walking with others

In her last year of pharmacy school, Christine’s father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. For every prescription, test and round of radiation, she was by his side.

“As a daughter and a health care professional, I could walk with him,” she said. “I could explain what he was going through. That’s exactly what I want to do for others.”

Christine graduated from MUSC in May 2025 and is now pursuing a pharmacy residency at the Ralph H. Johnson VA in Charleston, with plans to specialize in ambulatory care and teach the next generation of pharmacists.

She knows her path forward was shaped by the generosity of others. “Investing in scholarships is unbelievably important,” she said. “I hope I can pay it forward one day.”