But Montana must never underestimate the power of its small schools, said Bruce Beckwith, a world-renowned pathologist who among many accomplishments defined and named Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 1969.
"The small schools in Montana can really give a great education," said Beckwith, a Mission High School graduate who is now retired in Missoula. "The power of a rural education is that people who are interested in learning can find teachers to give them special attention."
"I got a lot of enriched courses because I wanted to learn more," Beckwith said, "and my teachers were more than willing to give me their time and attention."
In high school, Beckwith's teachers gave him a smorgasbord of intellectual challenges, prepared especially for him. Some of his most wonderful school memories include long discussions with his high school literature teacher, who gave him a personal class on "Dante's Inferno," and his math teacher, who gave him a one-person course in solid geometry.
"That's the kind of thing that happens in a rural school," said Beckwith, who was one of 27 in his graduating class. "Montana should treasure that experience."
Beckwith, who hails from the Missoula pioneer family for whom Beckwith Avenue is named, is proud of his Montana roots and has returned home to retire. A graduate of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., Beckwith attended medical school at the University of Washington, and worked and taught at hospitals in Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle and Loma Linda, Calif.
Although he planned to spend much of his time adding to his collection of rare and antique books on the subject of birth defects and cataloging them in his already extensive personal library, Beckwith has been rather busy of late being honored for lifetime achievement with several prestigious awards.
In April, the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology honored him with the Distinguished Pathologist Award, which is akin to an Oscar in the pathology world.
And Beckwith has just returned from Washington, D.C., where he received a standing ovation from the world's leading medical scientists and was given the "Distinguished Career Award" by the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology.
In September, he will travel to Tours, France, where he will be given a named lecture by the International Pediatric Pathology Association, the highest honor given by the organization.
Despite the honors and accolades bestowed upon him from the most prestigious medical and pathology organizations on the globe, Beckwith remains a soft-spoken, modest Montanan.
Only by reading his resume does the impact of his life's work register.
In 1963, Beckwith identified a new pediatric syndrome that now bears his name, Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. The syndrome is mostly associated with low blood sugar in newborns, which can cause death if not treated.
In 1969, Beckwith studied 12,000 kidney tumors in children and discovered that the tumors were life-threatening, but could be treated with an aggressive chemotherapy/radiation treatment. Because of his work, children who have the tumors have a 90 percent cure rate.
Among Beckwith's other accomplishments, which are far too numerous to print, include: honorary fellow of the UK Royal College of Pathologists; NIH Astute Clinician Award; and the first non-radiologist to become an honorary member of the American Society for Pediatric Radiology. He gave the Royal Alexandra Hospital RDK Reye Memorial Lecture in Sydney, Australia; the Johns Hopkins University William B. Shelley Lecture and the American Pediatric Surgical Association Robert E. Gross Memorial Lecture.
"It's nice to be recognized, but what makes me feel really good is knowing that I made discoveries that can help families and children," Beckwith said.
"I've been blessed in my career for the opportunities to make some contributions," Beckwith said. "That means more to me than getting any of those recognitions. Helping families and children live better lives has been my greatest award."
At home now for a few weeks until his next command performance and reception at yet another medical gala, Beckwith will quietly cheer on this season's crop of Montana high school graduates.
He hopes they too follow their inquiring minds and build on their educational foundation.
"I'm a book collector," Beckwith said. "Some of my books are 500 years old, and I've had to learn Dutch, Latin, German and improve my French to read them."
"One of the things I learned in Mission High School is the love of learning," he said. "You don't always need to be taught by a teacher. You can teach yourself a lot of things."
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