Campbell Medicine awards the first Rachel Helen Silver and William F. Morris, DO endowed scholarships.

Brittany Williams and Morgan Eudy, both members of the Class of 2022, have been awarded the Rachel Helen Silver and William F. Morris, DO scholarships, respectively. These scholarships were endowed in 2019 and awarded for the first time in 2020.

The Rachel Helen Silver Scholarship

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.

“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.

Brittany Williams, Class of 2022, first Rachel Helen Silver Scholarship recipient.

“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 Brittany Williams, Class of 2022, first volunteers with Rachel Helen Silver Scholarship recipient. 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.

Rachel Helen Silver (1992 - 2018)

“We received a very gracious and heartwarming letter from Brittany Williams, the first recipient,” Rachel Helen Silver (1992 - 2018) 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.”

William F. Morris, DO Scholarship

Dr. Morris was the beloved founding Chair of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine who lost his battle to cancer shortly after retiring in 2015.

Faculty, staff, friends and the Class of 2017 endowed the scholarship in his memory to recognize students who demonstrate academic excellence in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM), serve as an OMM TA, and/or demonstrate a willingness and ability to serve others.

Morgan Eudy, Class of 2022, was selected as the first William F. Morris, DO Scholarship Recipient.

Student Doctor Eudy is from Monroe, NC and earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He served as a 2019-2020 OMM TA, Treasurer for the Campbell University Community Care Clinic, and President of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Club in 2019.

“Being selected for the William F. Morris Scholarship is a huge honor, and I am very thankful for the financial support that this brings,” said Eudy. “Osteopathic manipulative medicine was one of the major reasons I applied to osteopathic medical schools and is an element of medical treatment I hope to one day incorporate into my patient care. Having the training and tools to treat the whole patient in a holistic manner was extremely important to me when I was applying to medical school and is what sets apart the osteopathic profession in my mind.”

Morgan Eudy, Class of 2022, first William F. Morris, DO Scholarship recipient.

“Having known Dr. Morris and Student Doctor Eudy, I would say that Student Doctor Eudy embodies the caring and dedication that characterized Dr. Morris’ approach to patient care and Morgan Eudy, Class of 2022, first education,” said Dr. Tom Motyka, current William F. Morris, DO Scholarship recipient. chair of OMM. “Dr. Morris was very skilled and always ready to help. No matter how inconvenient the time, he would always attend to someone in need, and I believe that Student Doctor Eudy is on track to uphold the high standard set by Dr. Morris.”

Dr. Morris' wife, Carol Morris, PhD, also congratulated Eudy and expressed gratitude to CUSOM for the endowment of the scholarship in honor of her late husband.

"William's legacy is the students - the students he taught himself, who have gone on to become Osteopathic physicians, and the students who have come after, who are still benefiting from his knowledge and expertise," she shared. "His passion was teaching students to 'listen' with their hands and to, as Andrew Taylor Still said, 'remove restrictions so that the body can heal itself.' He taught them that they can 'always do something' - with their training in osteopathic manipulative medicine, they have the tools to optimize function and make a real difference in the lives of their patients. We are grateful that CUSOM has created this scholarship in William's name, that his legacy lives on and his passion for OMM is embodied in the scholarship that bears his name."

- SARAH BOWMAN & SHELLEY HOBBS