Source: Garrett Stewart, stewartg@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, bbohn@k-state.edu

Friday, Dec. 4, 2009

K-STATE VETERINARY MEDICINE STUDENT SERVING ON EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF STUDENT AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

MANHATTAN -- As an officer of a national student veterinary medicine organization, Kansas State University's Garrett Stewart would like to help his fellow veterinary medicine students at K-State and across the nation become more informed about the key national issues dealing with their profession today.

Stewart, a third-year veterinary medicine student from Washington, is serving on the Executive Committee of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association as the 2009-2010 information technology officer-elect and will become the association's information technology officer in 2010-2011. He won election to the post in July 2009.

The Student American Veterinary Medical Association coordinates student chapter functions, promotes the exchange of ideas and information among students, and represents its members in matters that concern them, both as students and as future veterinarians. The association represents more than 11,000 veterinary students worldwide, including more than 93 percent of all U.S. and Caribbean veterinary students. It is the students' voice to its parent organization, the American Veterinary Medical Association.

"One of the reasons I ran was to become a source of information for K-State veterinary students and veterinary students nationally on organized veterinary medicine issues," Stewart said.

"The information technology officer is in charge of keeping all software programs used by the Student American Veterinary Medical Association up and running, as well as updating and modifying the association's Web section at the American Veterinary Medical Association's Web site," he said. "My job is to keep our Web section user friendly and keep information at the site up to date, such as on scholarships, loans, externship opportunities, veterinary legislative issues and other pertinent information."

Stewart also is in charge of all the computer hardware that his fellow Executive Committee officers use in their posts. The committee has monthly conference calls that last two to four hours, and it meets with the association's House of Delegates twice a year. The House of Delegates includes two student representatives from the association's 29 student chapters and three associate schools.

"I've always been interested in computer technology, though I wouldn't call myself incredibly computer savvy," Stewart said. "I got involved in information technology to help my family's farming operation."

Stewart's family runs Mid Continent Farms in Washington. The 2,500-head cattle operation uses a variety of technologies, including cloning, embryo transfer, artificial insemination, Internet sales and live online auctions. It has a Web site to help market its livestock and services at http://www.midcontinentfarms.com

Stewart has been active with the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine's chapter of the Student Veterinary Medical Association since his first year as a veterinary medicine student. He was elected K-State's freshman-junior delegate to the Student American Veterinary Medical Association, a two-year position, and has served on the association's Governmental Affairs Committee and as the association's liaison to the American Veterinary Medical Association's Political Action Committee's policy board.

He also helped organize the student association's first D.C. Legislative Fly-in, and is currently helping to organize the second event. For the fly-in, three student representatives from the 28 accredited veterinary medicine colleges in the U.S. are flown to Washington, D.C., and are exposed to the political side of veterinary medicine by learning about the legislative process and lobbying.

Stewart is the son of K-State alums Greg and Debbie Stewart, Washington. He plans to be actively involved in agriculture advocacy, organized veterinary medicine and food animal medicine after earning his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from K-State in 2011.