Drs. Britni Duffie and Dawn Miller McElroy ran this year’s Summer Pre-Dental Enrichment Programs. They attended the programs before entering dental college, and both graduated from Texas A&M University College of Dentistry in May. (Texas A&M)
Texas A&M University College of Dentistry graduates Drs. Britni Duffie and Dawn Miller McElroy led A&M’s free Bridge to Dentistry Summer Pre-Dental Enrichment Programs for prospective students this year.
SPEP teaches students through both rigorous lecture sessions and interactive lab work, allowing them to gain valuable dental knowledge and experience.
“It’s a critical and exciting time in their academic journeys,” Duffie said in the program’s press release. “Our understanding of that helped us to anticipate what questions they would have, how they’re feeling and to offer resources and advice that helped us.”
According to Dr. Rosemarie Zartman, Clinical Associate Professor of Comprehensive Dentistry and Interim Director of Student Development, Bridge to Dentistry programs encourage students to use their skills within disadvantaged communities.
“We encourage all of them to succeed in the programs and eventually ‘give back’ in service,” she said. “These two doctors are now coming full circle and represent the success stories that we are able to be connected to every year.”
Despite her success now, Duffie’s dental journey was far from linear according to the press release. Even after graduating from SPEP, participating in a dental assistant program at Townview TAG, getting her bachelor’s in biology from Texas Woman’s University and graduating from A&M Dentistry Collegiate programs led by Dr. Ernestine Lacy, she still was not granted admission.
However, she took the open slot within A&M’s Bridge to Dentistry Post-Baccalaureate Program in conjunction with UT Dallas. After completion, Duffie finally joined the class of 2026 at the College of Dentistry.
“By working with Dr. Miller McElroy and I, and hearing about our journeys, the students in this year’s SPEP can look at us and know that they will succeed and make it into dental school,” Duffie said. “There is no pressure to fit into anyone else’s timeline and our journeys toward dental school also serve as proof of that.”
The summer before her senior year at Garland High School, McElroy attended SPEP to grow her understanding of dentistry and learn about the admissions process. Urged by Dr. Jonathan Clemetson, A&M alum and Clinical Faculty in Comprehensive Dentistry, McElroy enrolled in UT Dallas, graduating with a bachelor’s in healthcare studies.
“He talked about work-life balance,” she said. “If you’re a dentist, you can still have time for family, have hobbies and enjoy your life while still being part of healthcare. Going into college, I knew I wanted to go into dentistry.”
Throughout her time at UT Dallas, McElroy participated in A&M’s Collegiate Dentistry programs, a massive commitment that was incredibly difficult to manage. To compensate for her struggles, she assisted an orthodontist in Plano, took another year of classes at SMU and pursued ministry for a year before attending A&M.
“After earning her doctor of dental surgery degree from A&M Dentistry in May and teaching the SPEP participants, she headed to Philadelphia to begin a one-year general dentistry residency at Philadelphia VA Healthcare System/Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center,” the press release reads. “She plans to enter private practice in the Dallas area when the residency ends.”
Fredor Bihizi, participant in Summer Pre-Dental Enrichment Program Collegiate II, receives instruction from Dr. Britni Duffie, program aide in the Office of Student Affairs, during class June 15, 2026. (Texas A&M)
All in all, Duffie and McElroy’s complicated paths were worth it in the end, proving to SPEP students that reaching a goal requires perseverance and faith. Collegiate II student Fredor Bihizi was deeply inspired by his teachers’ stories, noting how beneficial their perspectives were throughout his program experience.
“I’m well prepared, and I feel like this is going to help me beyond the application,” Bihizi said. “I’m looking at how I can be successful in dental school; not only just getting in, but also being the best student I can be at the school and performing well.”
Duffie values the impact SPEP has made on her students, treasuring the memories made as she prepares to enter the dental workforce.
“I got to experience what a joy it is to give back to the students the way others gave and poured into me,” Duffie said. “I truly enjoyed working with the summer programs and I hope that any work I do in the future will be more driven by the desire to do work that is personally fulfilling than by external metrics of success.”
