The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) announced that three teams of student pharmacists are finalists in the 2026 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition, which again includes The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.
The Texas Pharmacy team includes fourth-year student pharmacists Cristhy Herrera-Ureña (team leader), Kelsey Barabas, Tori Chou, Kim Cuellar, Binni Lubana, Paul Millet, Kim Nguyen and Jobie Ryan. The other two finalist teams are from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and the University of Washington School of Pharmacy.
"I am incredibly proud of our students and all of the hard work they put in to create this plan," says Clinical Assistant Professor Terry Weaver, R.Ph., who serves as faculty advisor. "They show tremendous passion for transforming community practice. The future of the profession is bright with future leaders like these."
Texas Pharmacy is a consistent finalist in the competition, and won back-to-back in 2024 and 2025. Four members of the college's team will present their business plan during a live competition on October 3, 2026, during NCPA Annual Convention in Kansas City.
NCPA's Student Business Plan Competition honors two great champions of independent community pharmacy: the late Neil Pruitt Sr. and the late H. Joseph Schutte. The goal of the competition is to motivate pharmacy students to create a feasible business model for buying an existing independent community pharmacy or opening a new pharmacy, and to prepare tomorrow’s pharmacy entrepreneurs for a successful future.