August 26, 2024
New program matches external awards for K-State veterinary students; first recipient wins national essay contest
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Fourth-year veterinary student Brianna Trent-Kielbasa accepts the first award in the new external match program from Bonnie Rush, Hodes family dean, and James Roush, associate dean for academic programs and student success. |
The College of Veterinary Medicine has launched a new program that will match competitively determined scholarships and other awards from any external agency up to a maximum of $4,000.
The College of Veterinary Medicine External Award Match, or CVM-EAM, program incentivizes Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student applications for external scholarship awards and grants while simultaneously leveraging both college scholarship and external donor funds.
"Our profession is fortunate to have several veterinary professional associations and organizations that regularly provide scholarships, scholarly prizes and other monetary awards throughout each school year that helps support veterinary education nationwide," said James Roush, associate dean of academic programs and student success. "While K-State enjoys seeing success from our students who have applied for these awards, we believe this external match program will encourage more students to seek out and apply for these opportunities."
To receive matching funds, the external award must be a one-time scholarship or award determined through a competitive application process, and the student must notify the college of the award through a post-award verification application. There are some programs that are not eligible for matching awards. See the program website for more information.
Fourth-year veterinary student Brianna Trent-Kielbasa has been selected as the recipient of the first CVM-EAM matching award for her participation in the J. Fred Smithcors Student Essay Contest organized by the American Veterinary Medical Historical Society. She won first place for her essay, "Welcome to the Jungle: The Impact of Veterinarians on Meat Inspection."
"I chose to write about 'The Jungle' after first being introduced to the book in a meat science class as an undergrad," Trent-Kielbasa said. "I was inspired by the idea that one man's voice could totally and completely revolutionize the world. Upton Sinclair was just an author — he wasn't an expert, he wasn't famous, he wasn't wealthy, but his words and ideas still impacted everyone who read them — all the way up to the U.S. president. I think of how many lives have been saved over the last century since we've enacted safer guidelines because Sinclair was brave enough and loud enough to expose the injustices he saw."
Trent-Kielbasa said she appreciates the veterinary college's commitment to its students.
"It feels validating that both AVMHS and my own dean saw the value in my work," she said. "Scholarships can be hard to come by as a veterinary student, so the new matching initiative can really make a scholarship go a long way. I can see this helping out a lot of future students!"