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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.

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