The first year resident class is quickly approaching the end of their first year of residency.  Thesis petitions have been approved and each resident has approximately fifty patients bonded!  Over this past year we have enjoyed trips to Ann Arbor for GORP, San Antonio for the SPEED course, Little Rock for the SWSO annual meeting, Dallas for the Alexander course, and San Francisco for the AAO annual meeting.  The Orthodontic Foundation funded many of these trips and we greatly appreciate the financial support!  The first year residents are currently screening and treatment planning patients for their little siblings in the UT-Houston Class of 2017 and are anxiously awaiting their arrival!

UT ortho 2016

Catharine Borders and her husband enjoyed their first Texas winter and still love the Houston heat!  Chance Choate is in the process of moving his wife to Baltimore to begin her urology residency at the University of Maryland!  Elizabeth Heath survived her husband’s first year of dental school!  Austin Ledingham has been creating masterpieces out of wood!  Andrew Leland is busy chasing around his almost two year old, Gavin!  Laura Lungu is busy wedding planning for the fall!  Spencer Mack recently celebrated her dad being elected the Mayor of Longview!

UT Ortho 2

The second year residents are rapidly finishing up their cases and finalizing their research thesis defenses as their residency is coming to an end.  Tami Bonilla is excited to be associating with Dr. Jeff Ball in the Clear Lake/League City area after residency. She and her husband, Brandon, have a 7 month little girl, Nora, and are looking forward to the next chapter, life after graduating!  Preston Greer is heading to Florida after graduation to be with his girlfriend Sydney, who is starting her orthodontic residency at the University of Florida Gainesville this summer. They are both native Texans and plan to be back in Texas to practice after the 3 years of residency and weekends on the beach!

2nd Year Photo 2

Kevin Hallgren will be returning to Kalamazoo, Michigan to practice orthodontics with his father, Steve Hallgren.  He will be taking the ABO clinical exam in September 2015.  He looks forward to returning to his hometown with his wife Jessica, and children, Ruth and Charles.  Taylor Collazo and his wife, Maeve, are excited to embark on the next season of life. Taylor will be moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth area after graduation to associate with Dr. Wick and Moody Alexander in Arlington, TX. Originally from Arkansas, Taylor and Maeve have enjoyed the great state of Texas and are looking to start their family here. The Collazo’s are overjoyed with the expectancy of their first child in December 2015!

2nd Year Photo 1

Grace Nam Hughes will be relocating to Irvine, CA with her husband, who will be starting his residency in internal medicine at UCI. They are looking forward to the mountains, beaches, and state income taxes.  Lacey Harris will be practicing in Sealy with her husband Chris, who will also be a fellow UT alum after his graduation from pediatric dental residency in June.  This summer they will be moving to Katy along with their sweet seven month old daughter Allison and two dogs Gatsby and Kelvin.  Daniel Johnson, and his wife Kylie and two daughters, will be staying in H-Town following residency, his wife’s home town. He is excited to be joining the practice of one of our great faculty Dr. Hanigan in Tomball/Magnolia.  Everyone is looking forward to graduation in August and becoming alumni of one of the greatest orthodontic programs in the country!