Electric Company Gift
Texas Tech Health El Paso Receives $45,000 Gift from Electric Company Charitable Foundation
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso received a generous grant from the Electric Company Charitable Foundation to educate future students and support educational outreach programs benefiting our community. A component of El Paso Electric, the Electric Company Charitable Foundation makes transformative investments in our community to help the region thrive.
The longstanding partnership between El Paso Electric and our university is reaching new heights through a $45,000 grant. The Electric Company Charitable Foundation, established earlier this year, has been a supporter of educational initiatives at Texas Tech Health El Paso aimed at empowering area students to become future Borderplex health care heroes.
Since 2001, El Paso Electric has contributed substantially to Texas Tech Health El Paso, including $5 million for the university’s Infinity Campaign to help establish the Foster School of Medicine. El Paso Electric and its foundation have played a crucial role as key collaborators in fostering economic development in our community. It has significantly aided the university in making substantial contributions to high-income careers within the fastest-growing sector in our region, thereby generating opportunities for our local students and promoting the concept of growing our own health care leaders who will go on to serve our historically underserved region.
This month marks the conclusion of Texas Tech Health El Paso's 10th-anniversary celebration, which honored community champions and our Borderplex business community for their support through a decade of milestones and successes. The impact of this type of collaboration is evident in the nearly 3,000 students who have graduated and are now actively contributing to the health care sector locally and across the nation.
The funds for the new grant will be allocated to various university programs, including Medventure for Your Future, high school summer camps, MedFuture, pre-dental society events hosted by the Hunt School of Dental Medicine, and Texas Tech Health El Paso scholarships. The grant is a powerful investment that will allow Texas Tech Health El Paso to inspire curiosity in the health sciences at a young age, as each initiative aims to prepare students for competitive programs while fostering a passion for discovery and innovation.
One of the highlights of the charitable foundation's gift is the direct impact it has on the lives of individual students, such as incoming Foster School of Medicine student Raul Palacios. In a heartwarming moment at a recent luncheon Thursday, Dec. 14, the charitable foundation surprised Palacios with a $10,000 scholarship funded by the grant.
Palacios is a native El Pasoan who graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso and Bel Air High School. He said the Foster School of Medicine’s mission, with its focus on education, research, and service, resonates with his values and ambitions.
When Palacios first got the luncheon invitation, He thought he and his parents would just be meeting with university officials along with El Paso Electric and the Electric Company Foundation personnel. His face turned to shock when the big $10,000 check was brought out for his scholarship for the Foster School of Medicine.
“Getting into medical school is amazing and then you think, ‘how am I going to pay for it?’” Palacios said. “Receiving this scholarship takes a load off my shoulders. I'll be able to focus more on school and focus on how I want to benefit and help out the community rather than putting my energy toward the financial aspect of it."
With the financial aspect lightened, Palacios could now concentrate on why it is so important for him to attend medical school in his hometown and how he plans on giving back.
“Attending the Foster School of Medicine is an opportunity for personal growth and a chance to contribute meaningfully to the health and well-being of our border community,” Palacios said. “I’m inspired by the mission of the Foster School of Medicine. I believe my local upbringing, coupled with my diverse research experience and transformative mentorship experience, have shaped my commitment to community service and health care advocacy.”
One of the aspects Palacios loves about the Foster School of Medicine is the school’s emphasis and focus on helping communities around the area that are in need.
“This is my home. I was born and raised here in El Paso,” Palacios said. “My family is here. I consider everyone in the community family. So, being able to help my community, learn for them, study for them, and be the best version of myself for them is all I could want. I feel Texas Tech Health El Paso allows me to pursue that."
It’s this kind of dedication that inspires the Electric Company Charitable Foundation to support students like Palacios and a university like Texas Tech Health El Paso.
“Through the Electric Company Charitable Foundation, we're proud to stand as catalysts of growth and prosperity in our community,” said Kelly Tomblin, president and chief executive officer of El Paso Electric. “Our commitment to education is unwavering, as we believe in its transformative power. Through increased support for Texas Tech Health El Paso, we are dedicated to nurturing the potential of our local students, cultivating a new generation of leaders in health care and beyond. Together, we are shaping a brighter future for our community."
Robert Almanzán, President of the Electric Company Charitable Foundation Board of Directors, echoed those statements.
“The heart of our foundation lies in providing a meaningful channel for our employees, company, and community to come together and contribute to the development of El Paso,” he said. “Reflecting on the incredible journey of this community over the past decade, we are reminded of the opportunities that come with bringing talent back home. As lifelong El Pasoans, many of us have ventured out for education and experience, only to return and invest in the growth of our beloved city. Our foundation is dedicated to fostering economic development, educational innovation, and environmental stewardship—the three pillars that guide our initiatives. We envision a future where our programs not only give back to our community but also strengthen the ties that bind us.”
The charitable foundation’s grant also supports the following Texas Tech Health El Paso programs that are reshaping the educational landscape for middle and high school students, particularly those aspiring to enter the health sciences:
Medventure for Your Future is for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from El Paso County, many of whom will be first-generation college students. The event allows them to learn about health science careers during a daylong experience on the Texas Tech Health El Paso campus.
Summer Medical Camp is a two-week camp for high school students featuring interactive presentations with health care professionals. The students go on educational field trips, participate in a mock crime scene investigation, attend financial aid seminars, and take part in a simulation of life expenses.
MedFuture, a UTEP and TTUHSC El Paso joint initiative announced earlier this year, will create a pathway to UTEP and conditional acceptance to the Foster School of Medicine school for qualifying high school students in our Borderplex.
Finally, the grant will support events hosted by the Hunt School of Dental Medicine for university pre-dental societies. At these events, students are introduced to careers in dentistry, receive information about the dental school application process, and learn about public health needs.
About the Electric Company Charitable Foundation
El Paso Electric introduced the Electric Company Charitable Foundation in April 2023 as its new philanthropic arm dedicated to transformative investments in the Borderplex. The foundation replaced the Community Partner Program and focuses on nonprofit projects aligned with education, economic development and environmental stewardship.
About Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
TTUHSC El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation students.
Established as an independent university in the Texas Tech University System in 2013, TTUHSC El Paso is celebrating 10 years as a proudly diverse and uniquely innovative destination for education and research.
With a mission of eliminating health care barriers and creating life-changing educational opportunities for Borderplex residents, TTUHSC El Paso has graduated over 2,000 doctors, nurses and researchers over the past decade, and will add dentists to its alumni beginning in 2025. For more information, visit ttuhscepimpact.org