GCU TODAY • 2 5
underneath all that skin — it’s a good feeling,”
he said. “That was my class, my area. I loved
the dissecting and discovering the differences
that everyone has with vasculature.”
Family sought ‘something better’
For Anton, pediatric medicine is a passion that
he realized when he was young. Yet he ignored
his calling, delayed going to college because
he felt he might not be able to make the grade
and ended up selling cars in Apache Junction
before deciding to follow his dream.
Earning a decent salary and commission as
a used car salesman was nice. Anton said the
money helped him support his family, but he
was miserable at work. Sales did not reflect his
true self. He felt called to pediatrics but had no
college degree.
Anton was 25 when his wife, Mary, and
father, Gustavo Sr., cornered him with an
intervention. They sat him down and reminded
him that he had his whole life ahead. It was
time for him to listen to his heart and make an
impact in the lives of ill children.
“They said, ‘Quit your job, we’ll take care of
everything. We want you to get a 4.0 and go to
med school,’” he said.
With that nudge, Anton found his way
to GCU. He applied to the biology premed
program and began what he knew would be a
multiyear process of becoming a doctor.
Anton was in elementary school when
his father moved the family from Mexico to
Arizona in search of a better future. In the
beginning, that meant low-wage jobs for
his dad as a fast-food restaurant janitor and
recreational vehicle power-washer.
“He always wanted something better for us
than what he had,” said Anton, who has two
sons Kalel, 7, and Atom, 2.
Kalel was diagnosed with Asperger
syndrome and was nonverbal until he was 4,
Anton said. The boy has since demonstrated
many of the traits of a savant, especially with
reading, writing and mathematics. He just
turned 7 but is already doing multiplication
and long division like a third- or fourth-grader.
So as Anton works his way through medical
school, constantly challenging himself with
academic materials, he and his wife also
face the challenge of keeping their sons
intellectually satisfied. Parenting an autistic
child, however, is a full-time job in itself.
Dr. Scott Soby, a microbiology professor
at Midwestern, said Anton’s family story and
working-class roots prove that anyone is capable
of following their dream. Anton, he said, has a
clear passion for studying pediatric medicine.
“As good a student as he is, he’s going to
be a better doctor,” Soby said. “He has a great
feel for people. Everyone who works with him
likes him.”
Dedicated to becoming a doctor
Like any graduate school, medical schools see
their fair share of attrition as some students
either fail to meet the academic standards or
take an alternative career path.
Anton said GCU’s premed program prepared
him for the rigors of Midwestern’s program. He
had an early taste of what med school classes
and labs would be like.
“It’s a lot of information coming at you
pretty fast,” Anton said of his undergraduate
studies. “You digest a lot.”
At GCU, premed students are part
of the College of Science, Engineering
and Technology, along with those from
undergraduate biology programs in physical
therapy, pharmacy and physician assistant.
Students in each program must successfully
complete standardized tests, ace their
interviews with graduate school panels and
demonstrate academic excellence in other
ways to exceed admissions expectations for
highly competitive health care graduate
schools.
Anton said GCU faculty and staff prepared
him for med school by getting him thinking
about those admissions steps earlier than
usual. He also credited GCU faculty with
teaching him the fundamentals of biology
lab work, which has carried him through his
earliest labs at Midwestern.
Haley Peebles, associate director of GCU’s
Center for Integrated Science, Engineering and
Technology, said Anton was one of the most
motivated students in her dissection class. She
said Anton’s reaction to dissecting parts of the
human body revealed his natural interest in
seeing what lies beneath, a common passion of
many GCU biology students.
“It was the ability to be hands-on rather
than just reading the material,” said Peebles,
who taught dissection and organized GCU’s
cadaver lab before joining CISET.
“(Anton is) very genuine, caring and
compassionate,” Peebles said. “He also really
enjoyed learning about the human body.
Dissection really appeals to science-minded
students who want to see the unseen and to
learn how to remove something from the body
without destroying it.”
Anton says that delicate touch is something
he has grown to understand in great detail.
With each research assignment and lab
activity, he refines his approach. Now he just
focuses on following his natural path in life —
with the TV on or off.
Universities create pipeline for health care students
This fall, GCUpartneredwithMidwesternUniversity to reserve
dozens of seats inmedical school and other graduate programs
for top health care students. Through a series of agreements,
Midwesternwill set aside spots in its competitive graduate
programs in osteopathicmedicine, podiatry and biomedical
sciences and in other health care graduate fields—reserving as
many as 66 graduate-programseats in several academic areas.
Visi
ormore information.
Anton credits his wife, Mary, and sons, Atom,
(upside down) and Kalel, for their love and
support.
photo courtesy of gustavo anton
