By Special to El Paso Matters, El Paso Matters Sometimes life’s most challenging moments become the compass points for our greatest achievements. This was true for Hunt School of Dental Medicine students Sujey Lucero, the 2025 McCabe-Whitehill Dental Scholar, and Melanie Mendiola-Martinez, the 2025 Dr. H.V. Whitehill III Dental Scholar. Both were recognized at a luncheon July 30, 2025, hosted by Texas Tech Health El Paso.

The luncheon also honored Deborah Whitehill’s second generous gift of $40,000. Whitehill’s philanthropic vision expanded access to dental education by providing scholarships to the Class of 2029, who arrived on campus in July. “I applied and received a scholarship as a UTEP student,” Whitehill said. “As a lifelong educator from a family of teachers, giving back to hardwo

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