Donor Spotlight
A happy honor for practicing "happy medicine"
After completing a residency in obstetrics at the UW School of Medicine, Cricket Davenport, M.D., Res. ’78, began the work of welcoming new lives into the world. Boys and girls, singletons and multiples, full-terms and preemies — she has delivered many babies to very grateful families. It’s no wonder that obstetrics is sometimes called “happy medicine.”
Dr. Cricket Davenport, who spent her residency in OB-GYN at UW Medicine, is the namesake for two new scholarships created under the UW’s Faculty-Staff-Retiree Campaign, which matches a donor’s contribution dollar for dollar.
As a young doctor, Davenport delivered a daughter, Celeste, to Ann Thomas Powell and her husband, Jerry. A few years later, Davenport delivered twin boys to the Powells. The birth of the twins, Weston and Matthew, was not easy. They were premature, and Matthew had to be delivered by an emergency C-section. The twins spent the first part of their lives in incubators “hooked up to all kinds of tubes,” recalls their grandfather, Clermont Powell, M.D.
At the time, Dr. Powell promised himself that upon his grandsons’ discharge, he would “eventually do something to honor the very expert care” that Davenport provided.
Moving far beyond the difficulties of their earliest days, the twins have become accomplished young men. Weston graduated from Princeton in 2006 and recently began the M.D.-Ph.D. program at the University of California, Davis. Matthew completed the five-year architecture course at the University of Southern California and accepted a job with Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson (NBBJ).
This summer, Dr. Powell, professor emeritus of pathology, followed through with his commitment to honor Davenport by establishing the Davenport Endowed Scholarship in Obstetrics, which will be used to support UW medical students studying obstetrics.
Leon Spadoni, M.D., and his wife, Yvonne, have established an identical scholarship. Spadoni, professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology, trained Davenport during her residency.
Both scholarships were established as part of the UW Faculty-Staff-Retiree campaign. Through the campaign, the Powell and Spadoni gifts will be matched dollar for dollar by the University. The matching opportunity expires Dec. 31, 2008.
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