Scholarship Recipient Gives Back

Charlie Whisler didn't lack direction; in fact, if anything, he had too many options. He can thank Community Hospital for setting him on the right path.

Just because he had finished college didn't mean he knew what he wanted to do. A graduate of the University of California Santa Barbara with a degree in marine ecology, an avid surfer, and a Peninsula native, Whisler had planned to come home to build his career. Maybe even get his Ph.D. in marine biology. But the idea of studying a "single-cell organism on the back of a kelp blade" was not his idea of a dynamic day.

He had thought about studying medicine, but he didn't know where to start or where to end up. To get an up-close view of the field, he signed up as a junior volunteer in the Auxiliary at Community Hospital. But because of his background busing tables during school, he landed a job at the Fountain Court Café and learned how to make a mean milkshake.

"I spent about a year and a half at the hospital and even crossed the 500-hour mark," says Whisler. "And I did decide to go to medical school, where I learned I was a lot more comfortable as a specialist than a generalist. I was most interested in studying and learning about the eye."

Early in his tenure at the University of Michigan Medical School, grade-school pal Steven Deweese told Whisler about a scholarship program funded by Community Hospital's Auxiliary. The junior volunteer applied and was granted a scholarship that took about $10,000 a year off his out-of-state tuition.

"They gave me the scholarship without strings," he says, "without stipulations like I had to continue volunteering at the hospital or return to the area to practice medicine. I was planning to come back anyway, but this was an exceptionally generous offer."

Today, Dr. Whisler, 37, is an ophthalmologist who practices in Monterey. Last year, the Auxiliary invited the doctor and his wife Christine to become associate members of the Auxiliary, a role which requires no participation except for an annual donation of $25 or more per couple. It is this contribution which funds scholarships like the one Whisler received.

"It's a wonderful story of growing up and giving back," says Mickie Vinson, director of associate Auxiliary members. "As an associate member, there are no meetings, and you don't have to do any volunteer work. But these annual contributions fund a wide variety of important projects, like the junior auxiliary scholarship. It's ideal for busy working people who know they're helping from a distance." While $25 a year may not sound like much, with 284 associate couples, and 445 associate singles, it definitely adds up to a significant contribution.