Texas Tech Couple Graduates Together While Raising Family

EL PASO (KVIA)-- A husband and wife crossed the graduation stage together this weekend at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso — marking the end of years of balancing rigorous healthcare programs, parenthood and supporting one another through it all.

Leonid and Claudia Yasmeen Lapsov graduated from the Hunt School of Dental Medicine and the Hunt School of Nursing during commencement ceremonies held Saturday.

The Hunt School of Nursing ceremony honored 124 graduates, including students from the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, R.N. to B.S.N. program and Master of Science in Nursing program. According to Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso, 119 graduates are from El Paso County.

Meanwhile, the Hunt School of Dental Medicine celebrated its second graduating class since opening in 2021. The Class of 2026 includes 61 students, with 11 graduates from the Borderplex region.

For the Lapsovs, the milestone represented years of sacrifice and perseverance while raising their two-year-old daughter.

“grateful, i think, is the most prevalent emotion i’m feeling now,” said Leonid Lapsov.

Leonid said his path toward dentistry began after serving in the Army, where he discovered a calling to help others through healthcare.

“once through my faith, i had this calling and i started shadowing dentists locally and some military dentists too,” he said.

Claudia Yasmeen Lapsov said becoming both a mother and a patient helped shape her nursing journey.

“when i delivered my baby and just seeing that side of a patient, i got to feel how it feels to be sick, to be in the bed,” she said.

The couple said balancing school, clinicals and raising a child required constant communication and teamwork.

“basically it’s all teamwork. we can not work against each other,” Claudia said.

The Hunt School of Nursing’s accelerated B.S.N. students complete up to 17 credit hours per semester and more than 1,000 hours of clinical rotations during the 16-month program.

The Hunt School of Dental Medicine, the first new dental school in Texas in more than 50 years, focuses on increasing access to oral healthcare along the U.S.-Mexico border.

As the couple prepares to begin their careers in healthcare, they say their journey was proof that persistence matters.

“keep hustling, keep trying. always. never quit,” Leonid said.