The swine veterinarian community gathered together on Feb. 28 to honor the outstanding achievements of students and practitioners during the virtual American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) Annual Meeting.
Hogg Scholarship
Melissa Billing, DVM; Kate Dion, DVM; and Joseph Thomas, DVM, were named the 2021 recipients of the AASV Foundation Hogg Scholarship. Established in 2008, the scholarship is named for Alex Hogg, DVM, 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 his or her education after years as a swine practitioner.
- Melissa Billing earned her DVM from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005. After 10 years with Smithfield Foods as a swine production veterinarian, she joined Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health as a swine key account veterinarian. She has been active in the AASV since veterinary school. For the past three years, she has served on the AASV Board of Directors, representing the northeastern part of the United States. She has chaired the Operation Main Street committee, served on the annual meeting planning committee. She plans to apply the Hogg Scholarship to help fund her master of veterinary science degree with a concentration in livestock systems health at the University of Illinois.
Kate Dion joined Hanor Company where she serves as a veterinarian and the animal well-being/quality assurance manager after receiving her DVM in 2011 from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Because of her continued interest in learning, she began taking online classes through the Graduate Certificate Program in Veterinary Preventive Medicine through Iowa State University. She formally transferred her credits into a full master’s degree program at Iowa State University, under the direction of Daniel Linhares and Derald Holtkamp, in 2019. Her current research concentrates on biosecurity and understanding how pathogens enter negative herds. In the true spirit of Dr Hogg, Dr Dion works hard to disseminate her findings to help support swine veterinarians.
- Joseph Thomas earned his Master’s degree and DVM from Iowa State University in 2016. Just as Hogg served his country in the Navy, Thomas served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps between 2016 to 2019. After his uniformed service duty, Thomas joined AMVC as an associate veterinarian. He returned to Iowa State University as a post-doctoral research associate and diagnostician trainee in 2020, where he began his work toward a PhD in veterinary microbiology in January 2021. He plans to use the scholarship to help him quickly and efficiently complete his PhD.
Dr. Conrad and Judy Schmidt Family Student Debt Relief Endowment Scholarship
During 2021, the AASV Foundation increased the number of student debt-relief scholarships. Three $5,000 scholarships were awarded to early-career swine practitioners through the “Dr Conrad and Judy Schmidt Family Student Debt Relief Endowment,” which was renamed to honor the donors who established the scholarship program. 2021 recipients include Claire LeFevre, DVM; Henry Johnson, DVM; and Daniel Gascho, DVM.
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 were 2017 graduates and have been continuous members of the AASV since joining as students.
Claire LeFevre, a University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine graduate, is the commercial farm veterinary lead at Carthage Professional Swine Management, LLC. Approximately 31,000 sows are under her direct care. She is responsible for herd health, development of herd health protocols, and on-farm employee training through programs such as PQA Plus. Dr LeFevre explained that opportunities provided by the AASV were critical to her education, professional development, and success as a swine veterinarian. She is an active member of the newly formed AASV Early Career Committee and enjoys giving back to the association.
Henry Johnson, a University of Illinois graduate, is veterinarian with the Swine Vet Center in Saint Peter, Minn. He works with various sized family farms to better the health and production of their animals to ensure a safe and reliable food product for consumers. He strives to teach production staff how important they are in maximizing day one piglet care and identifying sick animals. He enjoys supporting students, providing the same mentorship he received through the AASV, and fostering the next generation of swine veterinarians.
- Daniel Gascho, a graduate of Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, is the top associate veterinarian at Four Star Veterinary Service, LLC, Swine Health Care, in Indiana. His clients range from potbellied and show pigs to large commercial herds. He serves almost exclusively private and family farm clients.Taking advantage of the multiple student events and opportunities offered at the AASV annual meetings, Gascho made long-lasting connections he continues to rely on.
David A. Schoneweis Scholarship
Mindi Bracy, a third-year student at Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was awarded the David A. Schoneweis scholarship. The children of the late David Schoneweis established a scholarship in his memory to benefit swine-interested students from Kansas State University (KSU) and Oklahoma State University (OSU). The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a student or students from KSU or OSU who participate in the student oral or poster presentations during the meeting, based upon a selection rubric prepared with the oversight and approval of the Schoneweis family.
Bracy presented her research, “Risk factors for umbilical hernias in commercial pigs,” during the AASV Student Seminar. She was one of 15 students participating in the seminar competition.
“I am honored to receive the David A. Schoneweis Scholarship. It is encouraging and exciting to be a part of a career that supports veterinary students and invests in their futures. I cannot thank the family of Dr. Schoneweis enough for their generosity toward me and my passion for the swine industry,” Bracy said in an AASV release.
Schoneweis was a charter member of the American Association of Swine Practitioners (AASP) and served on the association’s Board of Directors in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1997, he received the AASP Meritorious Service Award for his lifetime of support for the association and in recognition of his work with students as a professor of food animal medicine at KSU and OSU.
