Pinned for success
Dental student Zoe Spataro is pinned by Jennifer Spataro, her mother, as father Bill Spataro looks on.
Soon-to-graduate dental hygiene students at Texas A&M College of Dentistry were honored May 8 for their accomplishments. They received pins and awards, marking the end of their coursework and the beginning of their careers.
All 30 are scheduled to graduate May 22 and are expected to be licensed in late June.
The students are entering the profession at a time of continued strong demand for dental hygienists. Employment of dental hygienists is projected to grow 7% from 2024 to 2034, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median annual pay was $94,260 in 2024.
A&M Dentistry’s two-year program celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2025. Graduates earn bachelor’s degrees.
Paola Avarado
Ausmus-Laursen Caruth Class of 1968 Dental Hygiene Scholarship
Western Regional Examining Board Scholarship
Sophia Louise Chacon
Carus Dental Hygiene Endowed Scholarship
Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society Scholarship
Phi Kappa Phi Gathright Outstanding Junior Award
Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society Research Award
Research Scholars Day – third place
Jaylin Izabella DeStefano-Malik
Ruth Riley Swords, DDS Endowed Scholarship
Lauren Alise Espinosa
Carus Dental Hygiene Endowed Scholarship
George B. Clendenin Award
Geriatric Patient Care Award
Exemplary Student Award: Outstanding Professionalism
Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society Research Award
Research Scholars Day – third place
Cristina Estrada
Megan Marie Fletcher
Dr. Janice DeWald Scholarship
Brian and Jerri Schooley Scholarship
George & Barbara Bush Foundation Undergraduate Student Travel Grant
Preventive Dentistry Award
Carolyn Ware Bartlett Foundation Excellence Award
Nallely Wendolyn Gonzalez
Brenda F. Hernandez Moctezuma
Brian & Jerri Schooley Scholarship
Carus Dental Hygiene Endowed Scholarship
Carolyn Ware Bartlett Dental Hygiene Endowment Scholarship
Western Regional Examining Board Scholarship
Patricia Kantz Whalley Endowed Scholarship
Doan Tranh La
Western Regional Examining Board Scholarship
Ausmus-Laursen Caruth Class of 1968 Dental Hygiene Scholarship
George & Barbara Bush Foundation Undergraduate Student Travel Grant
Kaylee Mae Lindell
Alyssa Nicole Mann
Patricia Kantz Whalley Endowed Scholarship
Western Regional Examining Board Scholarship
George & Barbara Bush Foundation Undergraduate Student Travel Grant
Amaya Love Orozco
Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society Research Award
Research Scholars Day – third place
Lexus Taylor Penn
Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Association Student Scholarship
Ruth Riley Swords, DDS Endowed Scholarship
Carolyn Ware Bartlett Dental Hygiene Endowment Scholarship
Carolyn Ware Bartlett Foundation Excellence Award
Sarah Ellenwyn Phillips
Research Scholars Day – third place
Emily G. Pina
Western Regional Examining Board Scholarship
Verenice Ponce Sanchez
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Elizabeth Sanchez Villasenor
Research Scholars Day – first place
Marie Helen Seykora
Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society Scholarship
Outstanding Patient Management Award
Phillip Earle Williams Award
Exemplary Student Award: Exceptional Student
Research Scholars Day – second place
Reagan Jade Snuggs
Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society Scholarship
Student Total Achievement Recognition Award
Research Scholars Day – second place
Zoe E. Spataro
Western Regional Examining Board Scholarship
Maahin Syed
Research Scholars Day – third place
Olivia Nicole Weisskopf
Ausmus-Laursen Caruth Class of 1968 Dental Hygiene Scholarship
Western Regional Examining Board Scholarship
Those who didn’t attend include:
Karis Yeh-Rim Ahn
Exemplary Student Award: Excellent Patient Care
Leah Mariam Berhe
Antoinette Delarosa
Sondos Emran
Research Scholars Day -first place
Tho Pham
Research Scholars Day – third place
Megan Kathryn Schoenemann
Students Chacon, Seykora and Snuggs were named to Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society Beta Chapter. Also inducted was Professor Bernadette Joanne Martinez, clinical faculty in the dental hygiene program.
Dental hygiene student Olivia Weisskopf and brother Jacob.
The pinning ceremony was especially important to Weisskopf because her brother, Jacob, is scheduled to leave for Air Force field training the same day she graduates and won’t be able to attend the commencement. He’s a member of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets.