Growing up in the East Texas town of Quitman, Beverly Waddleton might have let her small-town surroundings define her personal dreams. Instead, as the first African American female graduate of TCOM, Dr. Waddleton let her dreams ultimately shape the small town she has since spent her career serving.

Touting an outstanding academic record filled with extracurricular and leadership activities, Dr. Waddleton received a full scholarship to Iowa State University, where she earned a BS in Zoology. After three years in the private sector, she was accepted to TCOM and her preparation began for a career practicing family medicine.

Following her 1981 graduation from TCOM and a year internship, she decided to return home to Quitman. She opened a solo private family practice office that she ran for 22 years, employing nearly 20 associates, delivering more than 100 babies, and caring for families she had grown up knowing through church and school.

In 2005, she joined the East Texas Medical Center (now UT Health East Texas) in its Rural Health Clinic. Dr. Waddleton now serves as Medical Director of the Clinic and of Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab, and supervises Rural Family Practice residents through the UT System.  Her dreams have indeed shaped her hometown in many positive ways.

In celebrating our 50^th anniversary, it is graduates like Dr. Waddleton who epitomize the strong and proud heritage of TCOM and its commitment to serving patients in family practice offices across Texas and beyond.

Contribute Honor your HSC hero today! Please make a tribute gift, submit a photo or share a story that you value. Join us throughout 2020 as we celebrate the people, events and innovations that made UNTHSC all it is today — and look ahead to the next 50 years. For the 50th anniversary, team members nominated people whose contributions make them HSC Heroes. Each week, a new Hero will be revealed. View the list of all our Hero profiles published so far this year. There is a new one each week.