SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)āEvery year on the first day of school, Layla Ellisās mother, Keela, snaps a photo of her daughter with a handwritten sign featuring milestones and always what she hoped to be when she grew up.
In kindergarten, the sign said āa singer who plays music like Taylor Swift.ā But by about seventh grade, Layla said that the sign proudly read āPediatric Oncologistā and hasnāt changed since.
Now, sheās one step closer to making that dream come true, thanks to a scholarship that runs in the family.
In a rural hospital in Sullivan County, medicine has been the family business. But this fall, Layla Ellis isnāt just starting college; sheās continuing a legacy.
āI was given a full tuition scholarship to Indiana State University called the Rural Health Scholarship,ā Layla said. āThat is a full-tuition, pre-med, undergraduate program to help prepare you to get into medical school.ā
Her dad, Dr. Dustin Ellis, received the very same scholarship in 1999. Now, 25 years later, his daughter becomes the first second-generation recipient.
āItās really a surreal thing,ā Dr. Ellis said. āWeāre so proud of her, sheās worked really hard, sheās got a great work ethic, sheās a bright student, I know sheās got a really bright future ahead of her, and I know that she can do this. Sheās got her mind set on this, and sheās one of those kids who, once she sets her mind on something, just stand back and watch her.
Growing up in her dadās clinic, Layla traded dollhouses for stethoscopes.
āThere are so many pictures of coming in during the summer and playing doctor and walking around in lab coats,ā Layla said. āI wouldnāt ever say that I felt pressured to go into medicine, but just being in the office all the time really did grow that passion and that love for medicine and helping people,ā she added.
Her calling became crystal clear on a mission trip to Ecuador, a trip she shared with her dad.
āJust being able to share medicine with her, too, and my love for that and passion for serving people, especially underserved people, to me it helped solidify that thatās what she wanted to do with her life,ā Dr. Ellis said.
āThat definitely settled in that I wanted to do medicine and there was an incredible opportunity,ā Layla said. āOne of the providers on the staff was a nurse practitioner who works in pediatric oncology, and so I got to sit and I got to be her scribe and job shadow her for the day and kind of pick her brain.ā
The Rural Health Scholarship doesnāt just cover tuition ā it covers dreams. And this family knows just how far it can go.
āIām just really grateful for that opportunity and whatās ahead,ā she said.
Indiana State University, in partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine, offers the Rural Health Scholarship each year for ten applicants. According to ISUās website, itās designed specifically for applicants who have a strong interest in providing care to family and friends in rural Indiana and Illinois, specifically as a primary care physician.
Ā To learn more about the Rural Health Scholarship at Indiana State University in partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine, including how it supports future doctors like Layla, click here.
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