20 veterinary students receive scholarship awards from Zoetis and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Monday, April 6, 2015
MANHATTAN — Twenty students at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University are recipients of the 2015 Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship. The scholarship program is sponsored by Zoetis, a global animal health company, in partnership with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.
The scholarship represents an ongoing commitment by Zoetis to invest in the future of the veterinary profession. The program awarded nearly $1 million in scholarships this year — $2,000 each to 487 second- and third-year veterinary students at accredited universities throughout the United States and the Caribbean. Nearly 1,200 students applied for the scholarships.
"We are extremely pleased with the commitment of Zoetis to partner with our profession to provide significant scholarship funds to help our students financially," said Ronnie Elmore, associate dean for academic programs, admissions and diversity. "The investment made in our students now will pay big dividends far into the future."
"I am very grateful to Zoetis for assisting me with the cost of my veterinary education," said third-year student Lauren Sawyer, Fort Collins, Colorado. "The generous scholarship from Zoetis will allow me to more fully devote myself to my education. After graduation, I hope to work in the field of public health or epidemiology to prevent major animal disease outbreaks in the United States. Thanks again to Zoetis for helping me on my way to these goals."
The awards were based on the traditional criteria of academic excellence, leadership and financial need, as well as meeting the ongoing needs of the veterinary profession: diversity, sustainability and mixed/rural medicine practice. The program was launched to address the issue of student debt and its impact on the future of the veterinary profession, with a focus on food animal medicine.
Nationally, recipients of the scholarship include 23 percent who are from racial and ethnically diverse backgrounds; 25 percent are studying mixed animal medicine; 22 percent hope to pursue food animal medicine; 22 percent plan to go into small animal practice; and 13 percent want to enter academia.
Along with Sawyer, the following Kansas State University veterinary medicine students are Zoetis scholarship recipients:
Samantha Schimming, third year, Goddard; Bruce Figger, third year, Hudson; Sarah Nissley, second year, Manhattan; Diane Larson, third year, and Kelsey Sparrow, second year, both from Overland Park; Ellen Unruh, second year, Rantoul; and Christian Eckert, second year, Sterling.
From out of state:
From California: Colleen Geertsema, third year, Carlsbad; Grace Chen, second year, Hacienda Heights; and Pamela Etchegoyen, third year, Redding.
From Colorado: Hannah Leventhal, third year, Arvada; Mikaela Vetters, third year, Eaton; and Megan Spencer, third year, Fort Collins.
Malaina Lough, second year, Springfield, Massachusetts; Caitlin Timmins, third year, Lambertville, New Jersey; and Tonia Traas, third year, Waunakee, Wisconsin.
From out of country: Bo Liu, second year, China; So Lee Park, second year, Republic of Korea; and Vien O, second year, Vietnam.
