Donor Spotlight: Ann and Hunt Look
Ann and Hunt Look established the Ann and Hunt Look Scholarship in 1997 to assist Bellevue University students pursuing undergraduate degrees in healthcare management. Their scholarship is specifically designed to help adult female students who are facing challenges in financing their education.
Recently, Ann, who is a 1992 alumna of the program and recipient of the 2003 Alumni Achievement Award, took a few minutes from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico to answer some questions for the Bellevue University Advancement team.
Healthcare today is such a complex and rapidly changing field. What do you hope the students who are benefiting from your scholarship are able to do once they enter the field?
Our purpose was to give an opportunity to older women who are struggling in dead-end positions the chance to receive an excellent education in the healthcare field. As our population continues to age, these individuals are needed more and more in senior facilities and assisted living.
Based on your own personal experiences with healthcare, how important is it to have leaders who understand healthcare systems?
It’s has to be difficult to deal with all the changes from day to day in healthcare today. In New Mexico, we are in desperate need of more doctors; the system is overloaded. I would hope the educational system would begin to train more “navigators” to help people manage their health programs. It’s very difficult for older people especially those on their own. It’s frustrating to be waiting six months to see a doctor when you need someone now.
As a graduate of the program, what does it mean that the program integrates business administration skills into courses that are focused on essential healthcare knowledge?
We need good administrators with excellent people skills. The bottom line is always going to be financial but how good is the care you are providing. It’s a tough field, managing all of the staff. People come and go. Staff look for better hours and better pay. The emphasis should be on a good administrator.
Were you a working parent when you pursued your degree here at Bellevue University? What was it like trying to balance a family and your studies as an adult student?
No, I wasn’t a working parent. I was a military wife with responsibilities. I still remember the workload and the reading assignments. I admired those who were working, some with small children and spouses. Their weeks had to be really tough but everyone in our class hung in. And I was lucky I had an understanding husband if dinner wasn’t always ready. Hunt was the best!!
Is there one thing that you would say stands out to you when you think back to the time when you were attending Bellevue University? Our instructor, Ernie Stark, was the best. He expected us to get the work done, he graded all of our papers, but he understood the student’s time crunch.
And Alan Medsker, who was on the staff at Bellevue (University), working in the financial department, was the catalyst for me going back to school. He had been stationed years earlier with my husband. He knew I hadn’t finished my degree and he brought the enrollment material (to me) and basically said “get going!”
You are now living in New Mexico. Where are you devoting your time and energy, and your free time, now?
We both grew up in the Midwest but elected not to deal with cold, snow, and humidity. Hunt had been assigned to the Air Force Base here twice, thus we decided to stay. We both love college athletics and have been faithful to the University of New Mexico Lobos, football, men’s and women’s basketball. We are both involved with our church, taking active roles. And we are still traveling, trying to see more of our beautiful state. Our daughter and her family all live in Virginia now, so we try to get there once a year. We have great memories of Omaha and Bellevue.
What would you say to others who might be considering establishing a named scholarship at Bellevue University? Or even a sustaining scholarship fund?
Your degree is one of the most important things that you can obtain in life. My husband and I believe in paying forward by giving this scholarship. I was fortunate that I was able to finish my degree without debt. Hunt and I are constantly amazed and dismayed at those who are really struggling and just need a boost to move on. Hopefully, that is what we are doing, giving them that boost. And as I was an older student, that is the age group we desire to aid.
If you know a deserving eligible student who would benefit from the Ann and Hunt Look Scholarship, please encourage them to contact Bellevue University’s Scholarships & Grants Department.
If you are interested in developing a named scholarship to support Bellevue University students, please contact the Bellevue University Advancement Office.