Thirteen members of the University of Tennessee at Martin’s spring 2019 graduating class have been accepted into veterinary schools across the region, according to Dr. Jason Roberts, professor of animal science.

Samantha Drury, of Ashland City; Kamryn Gitchell, of Ripley; Erin Keenan, of Greenbrier; and Olivia Trasolini, of Newbern, will all begin classes at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville this fall. Brady Brown, of Lawrenceburg; Hannah Haynes, of Gallatin; and Caylin Potter, of Glendale Height, Illinois, are all incoming students at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Marissa Howard, of Rives, and Megan Thomas, of Adamsville, will both begin at the Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine; and Amanda Harrell, of Smyrna, is enrolling at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Meera Patel, of Arlington, will become UT Martin’s first student to attend the Louisiana State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Katelynn Hacker, of Atoka, was accepted into Lincoln Memorial University, and Savanna Metheny, of Weston, West Virginia, was accepted to both Virginia Tech and Mississippi State University’s colleges of veterinary medicine, although both have decided to defer and reapply next year.

The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine recently announced that Brown received one of 12 Bardsley Scholarships for the class of 2023. Bardsley Scholarship applications are reviewed by a panel and evaluated for both academic and extracurricular activities as well as leadership potential. Recipients must maintain a 3.5 grade point average during their time in the college of veterinary medicine.
<blockquote>“UT Martin’s veterinary science program prepares students for veterinary school with a good balance of classroom preparation and experiential learning opportunities. The students have many opportunities to apply concepts learned in the classroom while working with veterinary professionals in a clinical setting on the UT Martin teaching and demonstration farm,” said Roberts. “We are fortunate to have both veterinarians and veterinary technicians with years of private practice experience who are now teaching these students to excel. The yearly success rate of students being accepted to veterinary school speaks to the quality of the preparation at UT Martin.”</blockquote>
For more information about the UT Martin animal science program and pre-veterinary track, contact Roberts at <a href="mailto:jroberts@utm.edu">jroberts@utm.edu</a> or 731-881-1071.

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