2022 SAVMA John Pitts Award Winner

2022 SAVMA John Pitts Award for Distinguished Student Service 

Recipient: Mona Bandyopadhay, Michigan State University Class of 2023

Mona Bandyopadhyay is a 3rd year veterinary student at Michigan State University. She is from Saline, MI and completed her B.S. in Animal Science from Michigan State. Mona served as President of the MSU SAVMA Chapter and took on various other leadership positions over the past few years. Recognizing the importance of leadership and teamwork in this field has always encouraged her to pursue impactful roles and build connections within the veterinary community. During her time as MSU SAVMA President, Mona was a strong advocate for improving student wellbeing and established a stronger relationship between the Pre-Veterinary Medical Association and MSU CVM. On a national level, she was a member of the SAVMA Ventilation Depopulation Task Force and proposed ways to address the significant effects of increased faculty loss at numerous veterinary schools across the country. The opportunities and friendships gained from her involvement in SAVMA are deeply cherished. She has a strong passion for Large Animal Internal Medicine and Academia with hopes of teaching future veterinary students. Mona enjoys traveling, playing music, cooking/baking, photography, and taking naps with her two cats, Twyla and Tizzy.

Award information

Criteria:
This award is established to honor a veterinary student who has provided exemplary service to the veterinary profession. The John Pitts Award for Distinguished Service is open to any veterinary student who is a member in good standing with SAVMA at the time the award is presented.

Honorees will receive roundtrip airfare, lodging, and registration for the Annual SAVMA Symposium where they will be presented with a statuette. In addition, the honoree’s name and school will be engraved on a plaque commemorating the John Pitts Award for Distinguished Service, which is displayed at AVMA Headquarters in Illinois alongside other distinguished members of the veterinary profession.

In recognition of Dr. John L. Pitts' service to SAVMA:
While still in veterinary school John served as President-elect of the University of California-Davis SAVMA. In 1969 he chaired a committee that was instrumental in creating SAVMA as an autonomous organization and enabling what were once isolated student chapters to function effectively as a single unit on the national scene. Honoring his contri- butions to veterinary students, in 2006 SAVMA established the Dr. John Pitts Distinguished Service Award which recognizes leadership exhibited by veterinary students.