Cornell student wins Association of Women Veterinarians award

Ithaca, N.Y.

-- Shira Anne Rubin, a first-year student at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, won the Association of Women Veterinarians Foundation 2010 Veterinary Student Essay Contest for her entry titled, “Breaking Down the Barriers: The First 100 Years of Women in Veterinary Medicine.”

The essay outlines the gender shift occurring in the profession, as well as highlights of women veterinarians’ accomplishments over the last century. Rubin’s winning entry earns her a $500 prize, as well as $1,000 for travel to the 2010 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Convention in Atlanta, where she will read the essay on Aug. 2. It will be published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The award was sponsored by Live Oak Bank.

The Association of Women Veterinarians Foundation (AWVF) also awarded seven other scholarships worth $1,500 each. Recipients were selected from a pool of 77 candidates and include Keiko Petrosky of Tufts University, Krista Jones of the University of California-Davis, Vanessa Hale of Purdue University, Lauren Baker of Tufts, Jaimi Johnson of the University of Minnesota, Erin Warrant of North Carolina State University and Molly Harrington of the University of Pennsylvania.

The scholarships were sponsored by Central Life Sciences, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Intervet/Scherin-Plough, Merial, P&G Iams, VCA Antech and Verbac. They were awarded based on leadership potential, career path and influence in veterinary medicine both in and out of school.

Learn more about the AWVF at womenveterinarians.org.