Elizabeth Ceballos grew up being told she would eventually work at a canning factory in her Idaho hometown. The oldest of six children, she was often charged with taking care of her siblings.
These days, however, Ceballos is a third-year College of Osteopathic Medicine student, thanks to her rock-solid work ethic, sheer determination and some financial help from the University’s Glanton Scholarship Fund.
“Being in medical school has been a surreal experience for me,” she told the nearly 500 guests at the University’s annual Glanton Scholarship Fund Dinner on Oct. 14. “I still have a hard time believing that I’m living my dream.”
Her dream and those of other Glanton Scholarship recipients are supported by donors to the fund, which DMU created to help make medical and health sciences education more accessible for students under-represented in the professions.
“Thanks to your generosity, I am able to borrow less in loans,” Ceballos said at the scholarship dinner. “But more important, I won’t ever have to work at that canning factory – I will be a well-prepared physician who is passionate about improving the quality of life for others.”
The scholarship honors Willie Stevenson Glanton and the late Judge Luther T. Glanton Jr. Both lawyers, they dedicated their lives to professional leadership and community service. That included service to DMU: Judge Glanton joined the DMU Board of Trustees in 1979; when he died in 1991, Mrs. Glanton took his place on the board, became its chair in 1999 and continues to serve today.
Since DMU created the scholarship fund in 2004, it has grown to more than $1.5 million, including more than $230,000 given by donors during the past year. “The individuals and organizations that support the Glanton Scholarship Fund foster both opportunities for deserving students and diversity in health care,” says Sue Huppert, vice president for alumni and development.
This year’s Glanton Scholarship Dinner honoree was Robert Ray, J.D., who served as Iowa’s 38th governor from 1969 to 1983. In addition to appointing Luther Glanton to the district court bench in the mid-1970s, making him the first black judge in Iowa, Ray championed civil rights for all. Since leaving office, he has continued to serve the community, including as interim mayor of Des Moines, co-founder of the Institute for Character Development and co-chair of the National Coalition on Health Care.
