By Levi McGarry,
Charles and Shauna Weatherby, WSU alumni and retired healthcare professionals, are mentoring and funding students pursuing medical careers to inspire the next generation of compassionate providers.
Charles and Shauna Weatherby, two alumni and longtime donors to Washington State University, are working to ensure that tomorrow’s medical providers are supported today. By mentoring and supporting scholarships for students pursuing healthcare careers, they are guiding and stewarding the next wave of community practitioners.
Building careers in medicine and public health
Dr. Charles Weatherby graduated from WSU with honors in zoology in 1974 and went on to attend the University of Washington Medical School, graduating in 1978. He opened his Tacoma-based family practice in 1983, helped start Primary Care Northwest ten years later, and served as the president of the Pierce County Medical Society in 2000. Shauna Weatherby (nee Simmons) attended WSU in the mid-1970s, where she met Charles. She became an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and public health official, advocating for numerous HIV and AIDS prevention programs and minority health efforts in Washington state. The Weatherbys both retired from healthcare in 2022 after nearly four decades of serving their Tacoma community and now work to support those who are embarking on their own healthcare career journeys.
“When I graduated from medical school in 1978, Black people made up 4 percent of the doctors in America and were 12 percent of the population,” said Dr. Weatherby. “Now, almost 45 years since I started in medicine, we’re still not getting people in the health sciences like we should.” According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), in 2022, only 5.7 percent of practicing physicians were Black despite making up roughly 13 percent of the general population.
Mrs. Weatherby points to the value of representation in both education and career guidance. “I mentor students, especially students of African American descent, where I see that spark of potential and the compassion in them, to go on and complete their education and go into healthcare professions because I believe they can make that difference,” she said. Dr. Weatherby concurs: “It’s very good for people to have somebody of your own background to tell you what you’re going through, someone who looks like you.”
Unexpected paths to Pullman
While neither of the Weatherbys initially expected to attend WSU, the university quickly won them over. “I was raised in Tacoma and was applying to schools back east. One day in high school, I was called to the principal’s office, and there were two gentlemen from Washington State University,” said Dr. Weatherby. “They said we have an excellent honors program in Pullman, and we want you to come to Washington State. I hadn’t even applied there, but it sounded good to me, so that’s how I ended up attending.”
“I’m from Los Angeles, and I had wanted to go to a historical Black college, specifically Spelman or Howard,” said Mrs. Weatherby. “However, there was a program where they were looking for students of African American descent to go to universities along the West Coast, and I became part of that program.”
When it came time to choose a school, the details proved crucial. “WSU came with a great financial package. But they also were very personal in their acceptance letter, signed in ink,” said Mrs. Weatherby. “They made telephone calls because they realized that I’m coming from the big city with no exposure to rural America. They gave me information on what type of clothing and stuff I would need to live in Pullman, and they had someone available to meet me when I arrived. Mostly, I wanted the education, and they gave me that opportunity.”
Investing in the future: Mentorship and the Weatherby scholarship
Because of their shared value for education, the Weatherbys support current students through their endowed scholarship for pre-health studies. Dedicated to increasing access to entering medical professions, the scholarship helps students to pursue careers in medicine, nursing, or pharmaceutical sciences. The scholarship is intended to assist students through their pre-medical education, encouraging current Cougs to lean into the healthcare field.
“Health work is not easy work. It’s not for the faint of heart,” said Mrs. Weatherby. “You have to have a passion and a love for people, with nonjudgemental eyes to truly see people and have compassion. It’s hard work, but it’s wonderful when you see the impact you’ve made in another person’s life, just by planting a seed.”
“I think mentorship is very, very important, because to see somebody doing what you want to do is critical to knowing how to get involved,” said Dr. Weatherby. “That’s one reason why we both became involved in our community, because we wanted to support people coming behind us who can take care of community issues.”
“I have several young women who I’m mentoring now, encouraging them to go back to school,” said Mrs. Weatherby. “I tell them, ‘Don’t settle for being at the lowest level in the healthcare system. Let’s start with that Bachelor of Science in nursing, but then let’s go to that master’s program. And then once you’ve achieved that degree, pursue the PhD. You can’t just stop at the entry level, because there’s much more for us to do.’”