College of Veterinary Medicine announces new Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas awards

Seven K-State students have been chosen for the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas, which allows students to work in a rural Kansas county after graduation and have qualifying student loans forgiven. Front row, from left: Madison Evje, Jenna Spencer, Katherine Mongeau, Alexis Hansen and Hodes Family Dean Bonnie Rush. Back row: Brad White, professor of production medicine and director of the Beef Cattle Institute; Harley Allen, Sydney Rohlman, Calista Moore and James Roush, associate dean for academic programs and student success. | Download this photo.

By Rylee Coy
College of Veterinary Medicine Marketing

Monday, Feb. 24, 2025

MANHATTAN — Seven students in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University have been chosen for the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas, or VTPRK, a loan forgiveness program funded by the state of Kansas.

The new recipients are first-year veterinary students Alexis Hansen, Belleville; Katherine Mongeau, Garden City; Madison Evje, Manhattan; Jenna Spencer, Mound City; Harley Allen, Parsons; Sydney Rohlman, Pretty Prairie; and Callista Moore, Topeka.

"This class of candidates was very competitive," said Hodes Family Dean Bonnie Rush. "These awardees join a tradition of excellence established by talented and dedicated VTPRK alumni who are serving livestock producers and pet owners in rural areas across the state."

The Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas was originally passed by the state Legislature in 2006 as a financial incentive to provide rural areas in Kansas with committed veterinarians, and it was enhanced in 2022 based on the program's demonstrated success in increasing the availability of veterinary care in rural Kansas.

Currently, upon completion of their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, each student is required to work at a full-time veterinary practice in one of 92 Kansas counties with fewer than 40,000 residents. For each year the students work in rural Kansas, up to $25,000 per year of qualifying student loans are forgiven over a period of four years.

As of September 2024, 89 students have been accepted into the program, and 98% of graduates are fulfilling or have met their loan obligation through service in a Kansas rural county. Ninety-four percent of previous graduates who completed their four-year obligation remain in a qualifying county. Seventy-seven percent remain in the original practice and community they entered after graduation. Graduates who do not fulfill service requirements must repay the loan, and the repaid funds are reinvested through the addition of students to the program.

Part of the required training includes the completion of a Food Animal Veterinary Certificate. The students also spend time during the summer and breaks in the academic year learning about foreign-animal disease preparedness, natural disaster response, rural sociology, small business management and public health. During their clinical year, they will spend three weeks in a rural veterinary practice, applying the principles of small business management to rural veterinary practice.

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