"Ella Philllips Stewart" (1893-1987)

The first African American woman to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy (Pennsylvania), in 1916. She graduated from Stover College in West Virginia,in 1910. Ella was an ambitious and did exceptionally in the classroom throughout her years in school.She loved music.At the age of twelve,she began attending high school and had the dreams of being and educator.She did not finish her training as a teacher because she was married and started a family.Ella liked to read and talk to boys too.After the death of her child,Ella began working in a local pharmacy.Working in the pharmacy sparked an interest in being a pharmacist for Ella.She desegregregated the University of Pittsburgh by being the first black student admitted in 1914.Ella graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1916 with her Ph.D in the same year,she passed the state examination becoming the first African American female pharmacist in the state of Pennsylvania and one of the first African American female pharmacists in the country.Upon graduating and passing the state exam worked throughout  Pennsylvania.She initially worked the General Hospital in Braddock Pennsylvania,but was later able to open several of her own pharmacies.Her pharmacies were left under the management of peers from the University of Pittsburgh.In 1920 Ella remarried to a fellow pharmacist,and moved to Youngstown Ohio.There she,was hired as a pharmacists at St.Elizabeth Hospital.After some time,Ella resigned from the position and moved with her husband to Detroit.Their life in Detroit was short-lived.Ella and her husband moved to Toledo Ohio,to open a pharmacy.Ella became became one of the first black professionals in the Northwestern Ohio area and the first African-American pharmacist in the region.Ella not only known for becoming one of the African American female pharmacists,but also for her struggles against discrimination and her impact in the community.Ella was involved in many community organizations,including the Enterprise Charity Club,The Ohio Association of Colored Women,The National Association of Colored Women.Her involvement in these organizations and the obstacles that she has overcome has led to many awards in the Northwest Ohio area and the University of Pittsburgh that bear her name.