Best Of: Four Sunset High School students get full-tuition dance scholarships to UT at Permian Basin

Four students from the Sunset High School Dance Company have danced their ways into full-tuition scholarships at the University of Texas at Permian Basin.

Diego Campuzano, Eduardo Quinones, Mariya Cano and Verenice Uribe have received full-tuition scholarships for ballet folklorico, a style of dance that celebrates Mexican history and culture. Leah Huggins, the dance company director at Sunset High School, said the students cried when they heard the news.

“We come from a neighborhood where college is not always an option, so the fact that they get to go for free is a huge, huge deal,” Huggins said.

Cano, one of the four students, has been dancing for years. She loves how ballet folklorico tells the story of Mexican legends and celebrates Mexican culture. When she learned about the full-ride scholarship, she ran straight to her mom to tell her the news.

“We have some money issues, so if was not for this scholarship, I would not be able to go to a big university,” Cano said. “I feel very fortunate.”

Huggins had reached out to UT at Permian Basin several years ago about connecting dance students with the school. Huggins said she let out a shout of joy when she heard the four students received the full-tuition scholarships.

“I’m so proud of these students for what they have accomplished,” Huggins said. “These students are going to do great things at UT at Permian Basin and beyond.”