WVC awards scholarships

Las Vegas-Western Veterinary Conference officials awarded 27 veterinarystudents from U.S. colleges across the nation with $2,500 scholarships and$1,000 stipends to attend the convention in Las Vegas and held a receptionFeb. 11 in their honor.

The recipients, aspiring veterinarians and technicians, are third-yearstudents and leaders in their classes.

Simon George, 26, of Colorado State University College of VeterinaryMedicine and Biomedical Sciences, says he wouldn't have been able to attendthe conference otherwise.

"I can barely afford rent and to eat," he says. "I usedthe money to help offset the cost of tuition. It's nice because it allowedme to do other volunteer and leadership things instead of getting a part-timejob."

Dr. Jack Walther, chairman of the scholarship committee, says not onlyare conference officials looking to continue the program, they're workingto expand it.

"We're so happy with the outcome of this, we'd like to do more ofit," he says. "This is our opportunity to give back to the profession.After all, these are our future leaders."

For the first time since the convention's 1928 inception, Western VeterinaryConference officials awarded $2,500 scholarships to 27 veterinary studentswho've proven to be leaders in the profession.