Aug. 11, 2025 — Connor Schepke, a first-year medical student, still remembers the moment he got the news: He had not only been accepted into the University of Florida College of Medicine — he had also been awarded the J. Stephen Waters, M.D., Scholarship, one of the college’s four full-tuition scholarships.

“I cried,” Schepke said. “We were living on an EMT salary. My wife and I were both going to be in school that fall. We knew we’d have to take out loans. And then this … it was just life-changing.”

For Schepke, the scholarship was more than financial relief. It was a sign that he belonged.

“There had always been a little voice in the back of my mind wondering if I was good enough to be here,” he said. “This scholarship put an end to a lot of that.”

Born and raised in the Midwest, Schepke moved to Fort Myers, Florida, to attend Florida Gulf Coast University. With a goal to pursue medicine but unsure of what major to choose, he selected “undeclared health science major.” This led him to enroll in an anatomy and physiology class geared more toward pre-allied health professions than pre-med.

“I didn’t even know what studying medicine meant back then,” he said. “But that class lit something in me.”

What also changed his life at FGCU was meeting Katie, now his wife, on the second day of college. Their paths remained closely intertwined — especially after Katie was accepted into UF’s occupational therapy program in 2020. Schepke also applied to the UF College of Medicine that year but wasn’t admitted. So, he packed up and moved with her to Gainesville and found work in the field he hoped to one day join.

He took a job at UF Health’s Rocky Point Laboratory, where he prepared tissue samples for diagnosis as an anatomical pathology preparatory assistant in the histology lab. There he discovered a new side of medicine, not through direct patient care but in the careful, exacting work of the pathology lab. Each slide and specimen played a critical role in guiding diagnoses and shaping treatment.

A year later, Schepke applied to 24 medical schools and was accepted to one — not UF. He and Katie were engaged and in the middle of wedding planning. Accepting the offer meant they would spend the last six months of their engagement and the first two years of their marriage apart.

Many people around him — his family and even a physician friend — encouraged him to go. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that this direction wasn’t right.

When he asked for a one-year deferral, the school said, “no.”

“I had to think about what would matter most in 10 or 20 years,” he said. “How was I going to build a strong foundation for my marriage, for my life?”

In the end, he turned the offer down. That same day, he enrolled in EMT school.

He earned his EMT certification and joined an emergency medical services team in Columbia County. For a year and a half, he responded to emergencies and delivered care with a limited scope of practice but a full heart.

“There’s a lot you can do in EMS,” he said. “But there’s also a lot you can’t. I wanted to be able to provide care at the highest level I could.”

Turning down his first medical school acceptance was a leap of faith — but one that ultimately led him to the UF College of Medicine.

“There have been so many moments that confirmed I made the right decision,” he said.

By the time his acceptance to UF came through, Schepke had been out of school for three years. He knew how hard it was to keep going after multiple rejections. That’s what made receiving the J. Stephen Waters, M.D., Scholarship all the more meaningful.

“It felt like I was chosen to be here,” he said. “Like someone saw something in me and decided to invest in it.”

That investment is already making a profound difference. With the weight of tuition lifted, Schepke and Katie are preparing to close on their first home and are even hoping to start a family before he graduates.

“It’s allowed us to move forward with life, even while I’m in medical school,” he said. “I don’t know if we could have done that otherwise.”

With the freedom this scholarship provides, Schepke is considering a future in rural family medicine or emergency medicine, wherever the need is greatest.

“The scholarship opens doors,” he said. “It allows me to follow where the Lord sends me. That might not be the highest-paying job, but it’s the one I’m called to do.”

Schepke said he didn’t know the scholarship existed until after he was accepted. Now, he offers heartfelt thanks to Shelley Waters and the Waters family, whose generosity made his education possible, and aims to one day give back in the same way.

For students still dreaming of medical school, or holding onto hope after rejection, Schepke shares advice drawn from his own winding path.

“Never quit,” he said. “It sounds simple, but it’s not easy. In those hard moments, remember your ‘why.’ And don’t keep it to yourself. Tell your people. Let them remind you when you forget.”