MANHATTAN — Eight students in Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine have been chosen to receive the 2024 Zoetis Foundation/AAVMC Veterinary Student Scholarship. Local K-State veterinary student scholarship recipient is Chelsey Bieberle, fourth-year veterinary student from Bushton.

The scholarship program is sponsored by Zoetis, a global animal health company, in partnership with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

To offset educational expenses related to attaining a veterinary education, from 2010 to 2021, Zoetis and its legacy companies awarded more than 4,400 scholarships totaling $10.3 million through this program. The program focuses on addressing the issue of student debt, as well as the need to foster diversity in the profession — issues that greatly affect the future of the veterinary profession.

More than 200 scholarships worth $7,000 each have been awarded this year. The program provides equal opportunity for applicants, regardless of location, by using total student enrollment at each veterinary school as a means of determining the available number of scholarships per school.

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.

Scholarships will be awarded to students with career interests in all areas, including food animal medicine, small animal clinical medicine, research, government services, public health, organized veterinary medicine and other related areas. Through the Zoetis Foundation/AAVMC Veterinary Student Scholarship Program, AAVMC and school leadership identifies outstanding veterinary students who can help address changing world and the health, food and welfare needs of the U.S. veterinary community.