There’s no better feeling than accomplishing a childhood dream. As a child growing up in a single parent household, Ebony Hilton thought a career as a doctor seemed far out of reach. Today, Dr. Hilton is the first Black female anesthesiologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, and the accomplished physician teaches other young girls to pursue their passions.
GLOSS (Girls Loving OurSelves Successfully) is a mentorship program that ‘helps young girls feel connected and confident amid the blur of adolescence. Gloss aims to empower middle school girls as they grapple with the growing stresses of peer pressure, family and academics.
As the girls complete activities with mentors of the program and openly share the problems they deal with a piece of advice, “You should never feel like no one has your back or no one hears your voice.”
As a triple major who studied biochemistry, molecular biology and inorganic chemistry, Dr. Hilton graduated magna cum laude from the College of Charleston in 2004. According to College of Charleston Magazine, she went on to study and work at Medical University of South Carolina, where she graduated from medical school in 2008, completed a four-year residency and an intensive fellowship. In 2013, Dr. Hilton was hired as the first Black female anesthesiologist at MUSC, a specialty she chose because she felt it was an important and useful role in every part of the hospital.
As a child, Dr. Ebony Hilton recalls one specific moment that opened her eyes towards the medical field. At just 8 years old, she learned her mom suffered the loss of a newborn boy just days after his birth. She then vowed to become a doctor so she could one day save babies like her little brother. From that day forward, her mother only addressed her as Dr. Hilton.
“I never once had a plan B. I always knew that it would workout…and that’s because someone believed in me,” Hilton shared that being called such an important title as a child meant everything to her. It was more than a name. It was a prophecy and a reminder to never let her family down.
Dr. Hilton takes that some inspiration and instills it within the GLOSS program, in hopes to inspire those girls and validate their dreams. She hopes to serve as an example to young Black women that almost anything is possible with enough hard work no matter what your background is.
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“You can’t look at your situation for what it is, says Hilton, “but what you envision it can be.”
