DR. ELLIS LORENZO WEBSTER "Dream High," He Advises Young People

Ellis Lorenzo Webster is one of many Anguillians who, having succeeded in elevating himself in a noble profession, is a sterling example for others to emulate. Born and raised at Island Habour and the son of Zelmera and the late Gladstone Webster, he is now a leading surgeon in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“I came home to get some rest, to relax and bask in Anguilla’s sun and to lie on the beach,” said Dr. Webster, known for his ready smile and wit. He has been residing and working in Florida for the past eight years. There he works as an Otolaryingologist or Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon.

After graduating from Sixth Form at the Secondary School in Anguilla at the age of 16, he was granted a Government scholarship which enabled him to study dentistry in Trinidad from 1979 to 1981. Following that, he served as a Dental Auxiliary in the Anguilla Public Service for two years. According to him, he was to have been granted a scholarship to further his studies in England but this did not materialise. Instead, he enrolled at his own expense in the College of the Virgin Islands and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

From there he went to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. There he did a year at Graduate School and obtained a Master of Science degree in Biology. He continued his studies at the Yale University School of Medicine and graduated in l991. He went on to the University of Iowa in the City of Iowa where he did his Residency in Otolaryingology.

“After leaving residency in 1996 in Iowa, I went to Florida because the weather was something I appreciated,” Dr. Webster continued. “I have been in Iowa with the weather getting down to the negative numbers. An Anguillian-born thin-skinned guy like me couldn’t handle it so I decided to get as close to Anguilla as I could where I still could make a living and pay off my student loans. So I ended up in Clear Water, Florida, where I spent almost three years and joined a multi-specialist group of 120 doctors. They did all the specialties including internal medicine, family practice, cardiology, pediatrics, general surgery and otolaryingology.”

He then moved to West Palm Beach, Florida where he established his own private practice. There he has two private offices which he runs from Monday to Friday. He also works at four different hospitals where he performs various ear, nose and throat surgeries, using his gifted hands. He glanced down at his lap. “Fisherman’s hands but I use them for a different task,” he laughed heartily.

Dr. Webster who is a very modest person offered this advice to aspiring youth in his homeland: “Anguilla is an island and it is always hard to look beyond the environs of our shores and know that there is a big world out there with lots of opportunities. I would like to say to the young people to dream high. Sometimes it seems that the task is hard but you should never give up on whatever dream you have. Always think beyond what is possible and you will meet that goal and something will work out.

“When I was going off to college, St. Thomas, my father had died in 1981. I was the only person in the family working. I spoke to my mother and said it was time to move on because I am somewhat stagnated and she told me ‘go, education is first and we will take care of ourselves.’ Ruth Goodnow (an expatriate on our shores) made it possible through a grant that her father had set up in Massachusetts where I could pay for my first two years. Seeing that I had two years covered, and I lived with family in St. Thomas, my intention was to get out as soon as possible. So I finished college in three years instead of the usual four and then went on to school in New Haven, Connecticut, where you would think you can’t get to Yale University coming from a small island like Anguilla. They took care of me and provided me with some loans and grants by which I could get in.

“So I say to the young people, no matter what you feel is possible you can always do better and it is always good to have to strive for the best you can. You will get there some how.”
Dr. Webster, who is 42, is hoping one day to return to Anguilla to serve his people. “Every day I say I am in West Palm Beach, Florida, a guy from Anguilla, the other side of the Caribbean and I am here helping these people to make them better,” he reflected. “I worry about the people of Anguilla who have similar problems to the ones I am treating. I would like to come back home but the problem with that is that at this time, having lots of student loans and having family and I have to think about their going to college to better themselves. At this point it doesn’t seem that I can contribute as I would like to, but my goal is, at some point in the future, I would be able to contribute at least part time so that I could provide the same level of service to my people that the Americans are exposed to.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Webster is grateful that occasionally he has the privilege to administer care to some Anguillians and their relatives. One of them is Atlin Harrigan, whom he described as a most respected person in Anguilla.

Dr. Ellis Webster