Dr. Conrad and Judy Schmidt Family Student Debt Relief Endowment Scholarship
Three $5,000 scholarships were awarded to early-career swine practitioners through the Dr. Conrad and Judy Schmidt Family Student Debt Relief Endowment. Recipients Brandi Burton, Chris Deegan and Allison Knox were announced during the American Association of Swine Veterinarian’s 53rd Annual Meeting in Indianapolis.
The purpose of the $5,000 scholarship is to help relieve the student debt of recent veterinary graduates engaged in swine practice who still have significant debt burden. Qualified applicants must have been engaged in private practice with at least 50% of their time devoted to swine, providing on-farm service directly to independent pork producers.
All three recipients have been continuous members of the AASV since joining as students. As students, each attended the Annual Meeting four times during their veterinary education.
- Brandi Burton, a University of Illinois graduate, has been a veterinarian at Suidae Health and Production since graduation in 2019. She provides veterinary services for independent producers in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Dr Burton currently co-chairs AASV’s Early Career Committee where she had led the development and implementation of new resources for early-career swine veterinarians. She credits AASV’s student engagement and support for her participation in the association.
- Chris Deegan, a 2018 University of Minnesota graduate, also joined Suidae Health and Production as a veterinarian after graduation. His passion is to help independent producers of all sizes be as successful as possible. Dr Deegan said his activities within AASV as a student drove him to a career in swine medicine. He enjoys participating in the AASV Foundation Auction Committee and supporting students through activities at the Annual Meeting like the Vet Hunt.
- Allison Knox is a 2019 graduate of the University of Illinois. She is a partner and veterinarian at the Walcott Veterinary Clinic in Iowa where she provides on-farm services to family-owned farms in Iowa and northwest Illinois. She enjoys connecting with her producers to help implement new herd health protocols, adapt to evolving disease challenges, and prepare for continued success in the industry. Connections made while attending the AASV Annual Meeting as a student helped her secure internships, scholarships, and ultimately her position in her current practice. She appreciates learning new information and sharing knowledge at the AASV annual meeting.
The scholarship was initiated with a generous $110,000 contribution to the foundation by the Conrad Schmidt and Family Endowment. Dr. Schmidt, a charter member of AASV, explained, “Together, Judy and I noticed that many new DVM graduates interested in swine medicine begin their professional life with heavy educational debt obligations. As a long-time AASV member and animal industry supporter, it was our desire to help AASV members who have dedicated their professional skills to swine herd health and production. We hope that this endowment will grow over time to assist in reducing the educational debt load of AASV members as they begin their professional journeys.”
Hogg Scholarship
Neal Benjamin and Jessica Seate were named the 2022 recipients of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation Hogg Scholarship.
Established in 2008, the scholarship is named for Dr. Alex Hogg who was a leader in swine medicine and pursued a master’s degree in veterinary pathology after 20 years in a mixed-animal practice. The scholarship is awarded annually to an AASV member who has been accepted into a qualified graduate program to further their education after years as a swine practitioner.
After receiving his doctor of veterinary medicine in 2016 from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Benjamin worked exclusively as a swine veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Services. In June 2021, he became the Director of Health and Production at Valley Pork. With a strong desire to improve individual and herd immunogenetics and overall herd health, he is pursuing a PhD in genetics at the University of Illinois’ Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology. With a passion for teaching, he would like to serve as a liaison between veterinarians and geneticists.
Seate earned her doctor of veterinary medicine from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. She has dedicated her career to swine medicine, providing veterinary services to one of the world’s leading swine producers as well as technical veterinary service for two world-renowned animal health companies. She is currently the Director of Veterinary Science at Animal Science Products, Inc. Seate has been active in the AASV since veterinary school. She is an active member of the AASV PRRS Task Force and Pork Safety, Early Career, Student Recruitment, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committees. She has been a member of the Program Planning Committee twice. She plans to use the Hogg Scholarship to help fund her master’s of veterinary science degree at the University of Illinois.
AASV Student Seminar Awards and Scholarships
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation awarded scholarships totaling $25,000 to 15 veterinary students.
Taylor Williams, The Ohio State University, received the $5,000 scholarship for top student presentation. Her presentation was titled “Evaluation of water-based foaming as a mass depopulation method for swine.” Zoetis provided the financial support for the Top Student Presenter Award.
Additional scholarships totaling $20,000 were funded by Elanco Animal Health.
- Four veterinary student presenters received $2,500 scholarships: Madison Durflinger, Iowa State University; Hunter Everett, North Carolina State University; Katyann Graham, Iowa State University; Megan McMahon, University of Minnesota
- Five veterinary student presenters received $1,500 scholarships: Don Banks, North Carolina State University; Seth Melson, University of Minnesota; Andrea Sisk, North Carolina State University; Glorianne Vazquez, Iowa State University; Kaci Way, The Ohio State University
- Those student presenters receiving $500 scholarships were: Amanda Archer, Lincoln Memorial University; Shelby Haryslak, University of Pennsylvania; Kyle Nisley, Iowa State University; Donna Presnell, Lincoln Memorial University; Nathan VanKley, Michigan State University.
Thirty-seven veterinary students from 12 universities submitted abstracts for consideration by student abstract volunteer judges Drs. Alex Ramirez, Christa Goodell, Jessica Higgins, Marlin Hoogland, Russ Daly, and Thomas Painter. From those submissions, 15 students were selected to present during the annual meeting. Zoetis, sponsor of the Student Seminar, provided a $750 stipend to each student selected to participate.
