Students benefit from AVMF support
The American Veterinary Medical Foundation announced July 21 during its board of directors meeting in Chicago the 12 recipients of scholarships it awarded this year through its 2013 Veterinary Student Scholarship program.
A scholarship the AVMF debuted this year is the $500 Elinor McGrath Scholarship for a female veterinary student who has overcome an obstacle in her life to pursue a veterinary career. Dr. McGrath, who graduated from Chicago Veterinary College in 1910, is recognized as America’s first practicing female veterinarian. She has been quoted as saying, “I had a goal to reach, so I overcame the obstacles.”
Jaimi Goodman (LSU ’14) was selected to receive the scholarship. According to her application, she is legally blind and deaf, but was valedictorian in high school, was first in her class at undergraduate school, and currently has a 3.521 GPA.
The Foundation partnered with Juliette Fassett for this award. She is founder of Dr. McGrath’s, a brand of animal grooming products named in honor of the pioneering veterinarian. A portion of sales from Dr. McGrath’s Conditioning Animal Shampoo funded this award.
Another special scholarship opportunity was offered this year in celebration of the AVMA’s 150th anniversary and the AVMF’s 50th anniversary. Students were invited to research and prepare a report on a topic of interest in the history of veterinary medicine for the competition “Understanding Our Past to Transform our Future.” Ten students were chosen to each receive a $2,000 scholarship prize and travel expenses for the AVMA Annual Convention in Chicago. There, the winners presented their entries at a special symposium (see article).
The presentations and awardees are as follows:
- “History of feline medicine in America” by Shira Rubin (COR ’13).
- “Welfare and production in dairy cattle veterinary practice” by Cynthia Wise (WIS ’15).
- “Making strides through history: a look into the past, present, and future of equine veterinary medicine” by Melissa Fenn (COR ’15) and Nikhita Parandekar (COR ’15).
- “The past, present, and future of veterinary medicine in wildlife and ecosystem health” by Mee-La Lee (WIS ’15).
- “The evolution of the equine surgery specialty in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries” by Sarah Khatibzadeh (COR ’14).
- “Wildlife and ecosystem health” by Susan Blunck (WIS ’14).
- “The past, present, and future of companion animal medicine” by Rebecca Donnelly (COR ’16) and David Seader (COR ’16).
- “History of veterinary education/academia” by Danielle Lindquist (NCU ’16).
Thomas Caltabilota (TUS ’14) received the $1,000 Mildred C. Sylvester Scholarship.
In October, the AVMF will launch the fourth annual Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health)/AVMF Student Scholarship Program, which has awarded more than $3.12 million to some 850 first-, second- and third-year veterinary students.
For more information about the AVMF scholarship programs, click here.
