Bartle makes wise decision at life crossroad

One day, two once-in-a-lifetime events.

Incoming MUSC College of Pharmacy student Andrew Bartle had the world’s best reason to miss the 2022 White Coat Ceremony, which represented the start of his professional career. He was at a wedding. His own. 

While his classmates were donning their first white coats and taking the Oath of the Pharmacist on August 12 in MUSC’s Drug Discovery Building, Bartle was in Charlotte, N.C. getting ready for his rehearsal dinner. He and his now-wife Ellen Colborn got married the next day.

Since classes began on August 15, the couple had to forego the traditional honeymoon immediately after the wedding, but he has no regrets. The white coat never stood a chance against the white dress.

“I wouldn’t want to be down here without having her by my side,” said the Suwanne, Ga. native, who met Ellen through campus ministry at Clemson University. “They were both huge priorities but marriage was definitely the higher one.”

At Clemson, Ellen was an engineering major and played soccer for the Division I Tigers. Andrew started in chemical engineering with an idea of moving into pharmaceutical research, but eventually changed to genetics.

“I was advised to choose something that was science-based and that I was passionate about, knowing that it would lead to pharmacy,” he said.

After graduation, he took a job doing surgical repair sales in Georgia for a year because it was a relationship-oriented job. He joined Ellen in Charlotte six months ago, as both had friends and family there and in the nearby Upstate.

Pharmacy is a demanding career and finding a work-life balance is vital. The Bartles had to face that hurdle before the starting gun had even finished firing. But perhaps it was a minor hurdle, considering they never really weighed the two options.

“Honestly, it was never anything that crossed our minds,” he said. “I told MUSC up front that I was not going to make White Coat, no matter what. It was actually a good first interaction as a part of the program, given the staff’s willingness to accommodate and the great support I got this week from the faculty and my class.”