Scholarships Supported by the Zoetis Foundation Benefit Purdue Veterinary Medicine Students

March 29, 2024

A total of seven students in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine were selected to receive scholarships supported by the Zoetis Foundation. Five of the recipients are DVM students in the Classes of 2025 and 2026. The other two recipients are veterinary nursing students in the VN Class of 2025.

DVM Scholarships

The DVM student scholarships funded by the Zoetis Foundation are administered by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), which awarded more than 200 $7,000 scholarships to veterinary students enrolled in AAVMC member institutions. Congratulations to the following Purdue Veterinary students who are among the recipients: Kyle Barron, Tyler Bright, Audrey Evans, and Mattisyn Gebhardt, all of the DVM Class of 2026, and Naja Williams of the DVM Class of 2025.

The scholarships are for second- and third-year veterinary students. In addition to the traditional selection criteria of academic excellence and financial need, the scholarships focus on meeting ongoing needs of the veterinary profession – diversity, sustainability, and mixed/rural medicine practices. During the first five years of this scholarship program, Zoetis Inc. awarded scholarships to more than 2,700 exceptional veterinary students.

Veterinary Nursing Scholarships

In addition, the Scholarship Review Committee of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) announced recipients of the Zoetis Foundation/AVMF Veterinary Technician Student Scholarship program, including two Purdue veterinary nursing students. Congratulations to Stephanie Stewart and Mae Varda, both of the VN Class of 2025.

Through the scholarship program, the Zoetis Foundation awards more than 200 scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each to eligible veterinary technician students enrolled full-time in an AVMA-accredited veterinary technology, veterinary nursing, or animal health technology program in the United States or Puerto Rico. The AVMF administers the program.

AVMF Programs and Operations Manager Shanita Anderson said, “On behalf of the AVMF and the Zoetis Foundation, our volunteers and staff, we congratulate the recipients on this outstanding accomplishment in their veterinary career. There was a highly qualified and exceptional group of applicants for this award.”

The Zoetis Foundation supports communities and the people who care for animals, with a specific focus on advancing opportunities for veterinarians and farmers around the world. The Foundation’s grantmaking and strategic efforts help provide access to education and mental wellness resources, expand veterinary debt relief, support diversity and inclusion efforts, and enable thriving livelihoods by funding programs that help veterinary practices and livestock farmers adopt sustainable business practices.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

“Paws Up” for Jennifer Danaher – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we express our gratitude to Jennifer Danaher, who is department secretary for Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

‘Purdue Pursuits’: A PVM angle on Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups

Crafting meaningful and engaging course experiences has been at the top of Dielson Vieira’s mind ever since he joined the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty in 2024. As a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Vieira is already adept at applying innovative teaching practices to classroom environments, but that doesn’t stop him from seeking out new ideas, approaches and perspectives — insights he gains through outlets like Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups.

Top tier biology journal publishes PVM study that unlocks secrets of a drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious infections in humans

Though the name “Candida auris” is far from a household term, public health experts know it well because the multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious human infections, has been classified as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antibiotic Threats Report (2019). Dr. Shankar Thangamani, Associate Professor of Microbiology and University Faculty Scholar in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology, is researching C. auris, aided by a 2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New research findings, just published in Nature Microbiology, show how C. auris adapts and evades the immune system.

In Print: ‘Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies’

A just-published 300-page volume edited by Jessica Fortin, Purdue assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences, provides a significant new resource for researchers studying a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. “Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies” provides detailed protocols intentionally selected to serve as a basis for research laboratories seeking to further treatments for such debilitating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

It’s Almost Here!

Though the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference is almost upon us, there’s still time to register and take advantage of this time-honored College of Veterinary Medicine fall tradition that combines excellent continuing education with fun opportunities for reconnecting with colleagues and classmates, networking, and learning about the latest veterinary trends and products. The 2026 Purdue Veterinary Conference takes place September 23–26 on the Purdue University campus. The annual event has something for everyone, from veterinarians to veterinary technicians, faculty, staff and students.