AABP announces scholarship recipients

The 2023 Merck Animal Health and AABP scholarship recipients at the AABP Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Image courtesy of Merck Animal Health).

Merck Animal Health and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) announced the 18 bovine veterinary students who received the 2023 Merck Animal Health Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award. The winning students were announced at the AABP Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 21-23. Each student received $5,000 for a grand total of $90,000 awarded to these students.

“We are excited for what the future holds for these outstanding students and the talents and skills they will bring to the veterinary profession as they embark on their careers,” expressed Fred Gingrich II, DVM, executive director, AABP, in an organizational release.¹ “We are incredibly grateful to Merck Animal Health for its continued partnership and support for these next generation of leaders in our field.”

According to the release, each student received $5,000 for a grand total of $90,000 awarded to the winning students. To qualify, students must be attending a veterinary college and school within either the United States or Canada and must be second or third-year students. Students applied through an online form to outline their academic, background, and work experience as well as share their primary interests in veterinary medicine and career goals.² Each recipient needs a faculty sponsor, who must also submit a supporting letter.

“Merck Animal Health is proud to honor these veterinary students who represent the future of our field and the cattle industry,” said Justin Welsh, DVM, executive director of livestock technical services, Merck Animal Health.¹ “These exemplary students embody our unconditional commitment to cattle care as well as to our mission to advance the Science of Healthier Animals.”

The 2023 scholarship recipients are:¹

• Chelsey Ann Bieberle from Kansas State University
• Ruth Bowman from the University of Guelph
• Caden Colombik from Washington State University
• Bailey DeGroat from The Ohio State University
• George DeMers from the University of Pennsylvania
• Lillian Feider from the University of Wisconsin
• Ashley Garatea from the Western University of Health Sciences
• Sonja Gilje from the University of Minnesota
• Taythen Larson from Washington State University
• Michaela Musselman from Kansas State University
• Ana Leigh Ruiz from the University of Minnesota
• Paige Schmidt from Kansas State University
• Brooke Smith from Oregon State University
• Alexis Stadtlander from Iowa State University
• Vladimir Tadic from the the University of Calgary
• Erica Webb from the University of Georgia
• Tanya Weber from Washington State University
• Casey Whitehouse from Atlantic Veterinary College

One recipient, Colombik, is also 1 of 16 students to receive the Zoetis Foundation Scholarship of $7,500. The scholarships both are working to support students to help alleviate the shortage of large animal veterinarians within the United States.

“I am thrilled to receive a 2023 AABP Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award,” shared Colombik.³ “The support of the AABP allows me to continue my dream of using veterinary medicine to improve the production and profitability of the beef production systems in my home state of Montana. I truly appreciate their generosity and support of veterinary students like me.”

Reference

1. Merck Animal Health Awards $90,000 in Scholarships to Future Bovine Veterinarians at the AABP Annual Conference. News release. Merck Animal Health. September 25, 2023. Accessed October 31, 2023.
2. AABP Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award sponsored by Merck Animal Health, American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Aabp.org. Accessed October 31, 2023. https://www.aabp.org/students/stud_rec_award.asp
3. Veterinary students earn national bovine health scholarships. News release. Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. October 27, 2023. Accessed October 31, 2023. https://news.wsu.edu/news/2023/10/27/veterinary-students-earn-national-bovine-health-scholarships/