Meet your new SAVMA President!

Bridget Heilsberg

Colorado State

Hometown: Ravena, NY

Position: President (aka Boss Lady)

Description of duties:  I represent over 12,000 veterinary students in the US, Canada, Scotland, and the Caribbean to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).  I am a voting member of the AVMA House of Delegates, and participate in the Allied Caucus, the District IX Caucus, and Reference Committee #3.  I am also an invited participant to the AVMA Executive Board, and participate in both open and closed-door meetings and conference calls.  I schedule and direct the bi-annual SAVMA House of Delegates meetings, where representatives of the veterinary schools help shape the future of veterinary medical education.
 
Goals for this term:  Increase SAVMA's public face and general involvement; support and empower the SCAVMA Chapters at individual schools; build SAVMA Liaison relationships; Work towards increasing diversity in veterinary medical education

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Meet your new SAVMA Executive Board

Over the next several weeks, I'll be posting short bios of your SAVMA Executive Board.  The officers are a group of students that are former SAVMA Delegates, and were elected by their fellow Delegates to oversee the House. They were all sworn in to their current positions at the 2012 SAVMA Symposium at Purdue.   They work hard to represent you, their fellow vet students, but many of you will never meet them face to face!  This series of posts will put a face with a name, and let you know a little bit about what SAVMA is working on on a national level.  The officers also would love to hear ideas or questions from you, so feel free to email them!

Melissa Andritz, editor

From left to right: Top row: Erich Roush, Treasurer; Elise Ackley, President-elect; Melissa Andritz, Vet Gazette Editor; Taylor Simon, Information Technology Officer; Chad Clancy, Secretary; Julie Stafford, International Exchange Officer; Theresa DeCarli, AVMA Staff Consultant; Scott Dudis, Global Public Health Officer-elect; Middle: Bridget Heilsberg, President; Bottom: Andrew Stas, Global Public Health Officer

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Cake Decorating

Creative Corner

Chloe Matelski

Texas A&M

I am a cake designer. This is my art; my way of combining cake decorating and science!

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Congratulations to Vol. 47 Issue 3 winning submissions!

Thank you to everyone who submitted to the latest issue of The Vet Gazette!  Listed below are the winners for each of the categories.  Look for their submissions to appear in an upcoming post.  A special congratulation goes out to Texas A&M, whose students sent in the most submissions this issue! Keep those submissions rolling…

I’d also like to use this post to introduce myself as the newest editor of The Vet Gazette.  You can check out my bio for a little bit more about me.  Feel free to send me an email with any thoughts or questions you might have (savma.editor@gmail.com )

I look forward to hearing from you!

-Melissa Andritz, Editor

And now the winners:

Creative Corner:

Chloe Matelski, Texas A&M

Shannon Orth, Iowa State

 

Life as a Vet Student, Mentors

Winner: Chase Crawford, Texas A&M

Honorable Mention: Erica Burkland, Cornell

 

Life as a Vet Student, Our Future Plans

Winner: Becky Lee, UC  Davis

Honorable Mention: Alicia Agnew, Virginia-Maryland

 

Foot in Mouth

Winner: David Kim, UC Davis

Honorable Mention: Alicia Agnew, Virginia-Maryland

 

Trivia:

Ashley Ballew, University of Georgia

Brandon Gates, Colorado State

 

Forum:

Winner: Oneal Peters, Colorado State

Honorable Mention: Stephanie Silberstang, Cornell

 

Cases and Abstracts:

Winner (and Best Overall Submission): Alexander Robb, Tufts

Honorable Mention: Paige Mackey, Oklahoma State

 

Experiences:

Winner: Oneal Peters, Colorado State

Honorable Mention: David Kim, UC Davis

Honorable Mention: Stephen Reichley, Ohio State

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Some Slight Weight

By Elia Susskind

Cornell University

Class of 2013

Arriving at Fazenda Teotonio Wednesday evening, I took in a sigh of relief. We had left Fortaleza at 17:30 as the sun was beginning to set. As the land fell under a darker shadow, the traffic got heavier, the roads we took contained more ditches and potholes, and just as we escaped the rush hour traffic and picked up some speed, the air conditioner sputtered, spat, and cut out.  Our open windows provided relief from the stifling heat, and I quickly learned to keep my mouth shut as fat, biting grasshoppers (which I swear must have been waiting on the side of the road for the precise moment to successfully launch themselves in through the window of a passing car going 100km/hr) would find their way onto my lap, in my hair, or deflected off my forehead into the car’s crevices only to later find their way to my heels to take mouthfuls of my skin. For one who was slightly squeamish around sporadically moving insects to begin with, having them attack me in silence through the window at night was an event that took some getting used to.

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