Silver Scholarship Awarded

Rachel Helen Silver Scholar - Brittany Williams, (‘22)

The Rachel Helen Silver Scholarship was established to honor the life and legacy of Rachel Silver, a member of the Class of 2021, tragically lost in a car accident on July 2, 2018.

The scholarship is awarded to a second-year osteopathic medical student at the end of his/her second year who has clearly demonstrated a willingness and a passion to give back to their academic community as well as their local, regional and even national/international communities.

Recipients are nominated by their classmates in hopes that the selection process will encourage all students to do their best academically and to strive to be the very best person they can be in order to make this world a better place.

Rachel Helen Silver (1992 - 2018)

“Being selected for this scholarship means so much to me because it truly is my passion to use my experiences to help others,” said Brittany Williams, Class of 2022. “My entire life, I have always appreciated and truly valued the selfless love from others that allowed me to reach where I am in life, and I have always devoted myself to making sure those around me felt just as loved, appreciated and helped.

“Especially throughout medical school, times can get tough, and we all need people to lean on at times,” reflected Williams. “Receiving this scholarship truly means a lot – to know that during my two years at CUSOM, I have been able to make a difference in someone’s life.”

Student Doctor Williams is from Henderson, NC, and earned a Bachelor of Science at Campbell University prior to matriculating into medical school. Befitting a Rachel Helen Silver Scholar, she is a very active student leader and volunteer.

Williams volunteers at the Campbell University Community Care Clinic and served as the Quality Assurance Representative in 2019. During her second year, she was an Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Teaching Assistant and a tutor/peer navigator for the CUSOM Academic Center for Excellence.

She served as the Pediatrics Club Secretary in 2019 and is also a member of the Emergency Medicine, SOSA, CMDA, and SAAO student organizations. She volunteers with Peds Club field day, CUSOM SNMA HUMP Day, and Wings Camp for Grieving Children.

Williams is a member of the Sigma Sigma Phi Honors Service Fraternity, a Dean’s Scholarship recipient and a mentor for undergraduate students and MSBS students who are interested in pursuing careers in Osteopathic Medicine. She has also participated in a CUSOM medical mission trip to Armenia.

“Though I didn’t know Rachel, I am honored the committee saw my peer-written application as an embodiment of who Rachel was and the legacy she would have wanted to leave. I plan to continue to live my life in a way that, not only helps others, but also honors students like Rachel who dedicated themselves to giving back to those around them,” Williams shared. “As future physicians, compassion is key. We all want to be able to make a difference in peoples’ lives, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait until we are physicians — we can do that each and every day with our family, friends and classmates because no one should ever have to go through difficult times alone.”

Rachel’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Jon Silver of Asheville, NC, were delighted to learn that the first scholarship had been awarded.

“We received a very gracious and heart-warming letter from Brittany Williams, the first recipient,” they shared. “We are truly appreciative of her beautiful gesture which only serves to further verify our long-held belief that CUSOM is recruiting the best of the best.

“Having long been part of the medical field, we knew the qualities required to receive the award would result in the selection of a recipient who clearly demonstrates the level of kindness and compassion that is so crucial to success in medicine. We can readily sense these traits in Brittany from just reading her very kind words to us and discovering some of her passions. We are thankful for this scholarship, how it serves as a way to keep our daughter’s memory alive at Campbell, and as a way for her to help her fellow students.”

- SARAH BOWMAN & SHELLEY HOBBS