Four Class of 1998 Texas A&M School of Dentistry alumni have banded together to create the Baylor College of Dentistry Class of 1998 Endowed Scholarship, a scholarship program for second- and third-year dental students. Alumni Dr. Don Le, Dr. Hung Pham, Dr. Suketu Kapadia and Dr. Darin Ward spearheaded the project, according to an A&M College of Dentistry release.
They’ve partnered with the School of Dentistry and the Texas A&M Foundation and are working to raise a minimum of $250,000 over the next five years, Texas A&M Foundation Director of Development Ian Wilson said.
Once established, the endowment will provide four awards a year — two for second-year students and two for third-year students. One scholarship from each year will be awarded based on financial need and the other will be awarded to the “most outstanding” students who “has shown exemplary service to the school and their peers.”
The A&M College of Dentistry, located in Dallas, merged with the Texas A&M University System in September 1996 before becoming a founding member of the A&M Health Science Center in 1999. It became a college at the main A&M campus in 2013.
In the release, Le said some alumni felt lost when the school joined the A&M System, they still “understand the spirit and the mission of the school is the same.”
“By doing this, hopefully, we’ll help people look beyond the name and focus on the school itself,” he said.
After their 25th reunion, Dr. Suketu Kapadia — instrumental in keeping the Class of 1998 connected through a WhatsApp group — began messaging alumni about the idea.
“From there, he became a key part of putting together the endowment,” the Dentistry release reads.
Le and his wife, Dr. Cindy Le, have founded two other endowments in the past: a 2014 scholarship fund for second-year students and a $50,000 building contribution for the School of Dentistry in 2018. With that experience, Le took a vital leadership role, the release reads.
The end goal is to have at least 50 alumni involved and donating to the Baylor College of Dentistry Class of 1998 Endowed Scholarship, Le said.
