Tiffany Shelton wonders what it must have been like for Dorothy Reese Pelko, who dreamed of going to medical school more than half a century ago but couldn’t afford it. The College of Medicine freshman is truly inspired by philanthropists like Pelko, who died in 2002 and made a generous contribution to UAMS for scholarships and research in aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

“It’s amazing that someone would make this happen for a total stranger, when she couldn’t even attend medical school herself,” says Shelton, a Little Rock native who is interested in geriatrics. “I hope I can do something like this for a future medical student someday.”

In addition to the Paul and Dorothy Reese Pelko Endowed Scholarship, Shelton’s academic achievement earned her scholarships from the Dorothy Snider Foundation and the Joseph and Carolyn Tenenbaum Charitable Trust Fund. “Medical students have so many expenses,” says Shelton. “Scholarship support goes a long way toward books, diagnostic equipment and insurance as well as tuition.”