6 El Paso high school seniors chosen for joint medical program
According to the news release by Texas Tech Health El Paso, MedFuture is an initiative that 'jointly admits talented high school seniors from West Texas to college and medical school in El Paso.'
The third cohort of MedFuture includes the following six students, according to Texas Tech Health El Paso:
Siena Cameron – Montwood High School
Maria Garcia – Clint Early College Academy
Jovanna Gomez – Clint Early College Academy
Mia Gomez – Pebble Hills High School
Melania Joy Martinez – Loretto Academy
LeeAnn Morales – El Dorado High School
'We're proud to welcome our third MedFuture cohort in collaboration with UTEP,' Richard Lange, M.D., M.B.A., president of Texas Tech Health El Paso, said. 'Each year, this program opens doors for outstanding local students who are passionate about medicine and dedicated to serving our Borderplex community. By investing in homegrown talent, MedFuture strengthens our region's health care future and helps meet the growing demand for physicians in El Paso and beyond.'
The six students for the third cohort of MedFuture were selected by a committee made up of faculty and staff from UTEP and Texas Tech Health El Paso, the news release read.
In addition, Texas Tech Health El Paso said students in MedFuture received admission to UTEP and conditional acceptance to Texas Tech Health El Paso's Foster School of Medicine when they complete their undergraduate degrees.
'This program enrolls the best pre-med students in the region at UTEP and prepares them for medical school at Texas Tech Health El Paso,' UTEP President Heather Wilson said. 'By working together, we can identify and develop exceptional students and educate doctors who want to serve the region.'
Texas Tech Health El Paso said that while the MedFuture students are completing their undergraduate studies at UTEP, they will benefit from 'robust pre-med support, including participation in the UTEP PREP summer program to help establish a strong academic foundation.'
'This experience will give me hands-on exposure to diagnostic tools like mammography, ultrasound and MRI — skills that are essential in women's health,' Mia Gomez, a student chosen for MedFuture, said. 'This program will help me understand how imaging plays a critical role in diagnosing and treating patients, and it will strengthen both my research and clinical foundation as I prepare for a future in medicine.'
The MedFuture program is the first of its kind in West Texas that brings together two independent universities to create a new educational pathway, Texas Tech Health El Paso said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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6 El Paso high school seniors chosen for joint medical program
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Dishing out food at a protest in front of Argentina's new Ministry of Human Capital, which has ... More refused to supply food to community kitchens. (Photo by Nicolas Suarez) Marina Joski has a lot on her plate. The mother of three (and grandmother of one) also cares for her own mother. As for paid work, Joski is a health promoter—someone who provides information and support about health. A leader of the union UTEP, she coordinates community health spaces throughout Argentina. But she's become even busier since Argentine president Javier Milei started imposing swinging cuts across the social sector in late 2023. Joski's salary shrank. Her family has drastically cut down on the amount of meat they eat. Joski has had to take on three additional jobs. She calls this a 'strategy of multiple employment: dedicating a little less time to what we love to do.' 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This 'economic violence' is only part of the story. It's been accompanied by what Joski calls 'symbolic violence': a daily litany of insults, harassment, and accusations about community-based and public-sector work. Critics in an increasingly polarized political environment claim that community workers, health promoters, public researchers, and others are wasteful or anti-individual. For people like Joski, it's hard to be considered a public enemy for trying to help others. The symbolic violence especially targets women and non-binary people. One way is through the dismantling of care policies: those that help keep people free from hunger, illness, and violence. It is largely women who provide such care, and often women and girls who need this social support because of financial vulnerability and other reasons. According to the Center for Legal and Social Studies, a Buenos Aires-based human rights organization, only 5 out of 50 care policies now remain in place in Argentina. 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And it is very important that they do not derail the will for change. So far, we do not see that.' The IMF declined to respond to specific questions, referring instead to a staff report that praises the Argentine authorities' work to stabilize and grow the economy. This report projects that public debt, as a percentage of GDP, will dramatically shrink from 85.3% in 2024 to 38.2% in 2035. As of January, Argentina owed $40.6 billion to the IMF alone. In 2025, 18.6% of that amount is expected to go to paying off IMF debt. No one disputes that decisive action was needed to address Argentina's staggering inflation. But Gago doesn't think that the current government's actions will ultimately resolve inflation, if it remains dependent on external debt that needs to be repaid in dollars, and does not address structural elements like rising housing prices. Indeed, the real estate sector has been one of the winners of the government's deregulation push, Gago says. In this 'dual economy,' there is polarization between the ultra-rich and those who are staying or becoming poor. Wealth is increasingly being transferred from workers to large corporations. 'Every day we lose rights, and there's less and less budget to implement public policy,' de la Vega warns.
