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Emma Gautreaux, PharmD, MBA
Dr. Emma Gautreaux is a 2021 graduate of the College of Pharmacy (COP) obtaining both
her Doctorate in Pharmacy as well as a Master's in Business Administration. She completed
her pre-pharmacy coursework at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA, and decided
to pursue the PharmD/MBA combination degree during her second year in the professional
pharmacy program.
Gautreaux is originally from Bourg, LA. She said her usual spiel for people unfamiliar
with Bourg goes as follows: 鈥淚t鈥檚 about 30 minutes south of Houma!鈥� If they don鈥檛
know Houma, 鈥渋t鈥檚 about 45 minutes southeast of New Orleans!鈥� And if they did not
know there was land south of New Orleans, 鈥淚 used to take my pirogue to school!鈥� Gautreaux
is the oldest of three with two younger twin brothers, Jason and Mitch, who joined
the Marines after high school. Jason and his wife are expecting a baby girl in April,
so 鈥淎unt鈥� will be a new title for Gautreaux very soon. Her father works in the oil
field and her mom is a principal at an elementary school. Her mom completed a master鈥檚
degree while Gautreaux and her brothers were in junior high school. She said growing
up she didn鈥檛 realize what an accomplishment that was, but she understands now and
wanted to give a shoutout to her mom!
On why she chose ULM, she says, 鈥淚 loved my small high school experience and the fact
that everyone knew my name and was rooting for me. When I walked into the Bienville
building for the first time, it felt just like that.鈥� She said people greeting each
other in the hall by name, smiling and having a good time, it was clear that here
at ULM she would be known as 鈥淓mma,鈥� and not just 鈥渁 student.鈥� She knew she would
have people rooting for her while she tackled the very difficult task of pharmacy
school. Now, as a graduate, she can confidently say that her initial feeling was correct.
鈥淯LM College of Pharmacy challenged me, but the faculty and staff made it a priority
to make sure I had everything I needed to dominate those challenges.鈥�
When asked what areas of pharmacy she is passionate about, Gautreaux said she is passionate
about pharmacy education in general. As a recent graduate, she said that she obviously
has very little experience in the area, but she isn鈥檛 sure how someone could teach
and decide they didn鈥檛 like it! Expanding further, she said, 鈥渨atching our students
take the foundational knowledge we teach them and turn it into something brilliant
is downright rewarding.鈥� She sees a lot of room for innovation and creativity withing
pharmacy education. How can we keep students curious and asking questions? How can
we tailor our teaching to meet student鈥檚 individual needs? These are questions she
thinks about and gets excited to explore. Having that passion for pharmacy education
helped her decide shortly after graduation that she did not want to leave the ULM
COP and last June she accepted the position of Academic Leadership Fellow here at
the college.
Her advice to those looking for a career in pharmacy falls in line with her current
position as Academic Leadership Fellow. She advises not to plan your career so rigidly
that you let opportunities pass you by. She says, 鈥渢ake off the blinders, look around,
and see what opportunities are waiting for you.鈥� She said she hadn鈥檛 thought a career
in academia was an option, so it was daunting to even consider applying for the fellowship.
All that changed after she took Dr. Craft鈥檚 APPE rotation. She said she scheduled
the rotation with hopes of learning how to use her MBA in the community pharmacy setting,
as Dr. Craft also has an MBA. Instead, she learned that she enjoys academia! So, upon
learning of the fellowship, she decided to apply, although it still wasn鈥檛 an easy
choice to make. Many questions went through her head, but none compelling enough to
pass up the opportunity, she says. 鈥淪o here I am, and I鈥檓 happy with my choice. I
still don鈥檛 know what I will do after my two-year fellowship is over; I have my plans
of course, but I鈥檓 learning to take opportunities as they come,鈥� said Gautreaux.
When she isn鈥檛 working at the COP or teaching, she has several hobbies to keep her
busy. Gautreaux said, 鈥淚 love to create things, but I have a short attention span
and tend to jump from hobby to hobby.鈥� She has recently enjoyed paper quilling鈥揻olding
little strips of paper then arranging them into a picture. During the beginning of
the pandemic, she also fell in love with beading, especially bead weaving and bead
crocheting. She usually always has a bead project on the side no matter what she is
doing. She also enjoys drinking wine, watching Netflix, listening to audiobooks, and
spending time with her puppy.
We are grateful Dr. Gautreaux鈥檚 path led her to stay around after graduation and we
will be excited to see where her career goes!
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College of Pharmacy
