On Saturday, April 23, students, faculty, staff, and friends gathered in Varsity Hall at Union South to celebrate the end of the academic year and to recognize the efforts of the exceptional people who work and learn at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine.
The annual “Celebration of Excellence” event is made possible through the generosity of numerous donors. Here are this year’s award recipients:
Faculty and Staff Awards
- Professor Peter MacWilliams Pathology Resident Award – Dr. Angela Borchers (2nd-year clinical pathology)
- Zoe and Lexi Wells Small Animal Technician Awards – Sara Kennedy (special species); Brittany Yanda (clinical pathology CVT)
- Zoe and Lexi Wells Large Animal Technician Award – Amanda Anderson
- Zoe and Lexi Wells Technologist of the Year Award – Nicole Birschbach (Radiology)
- Zoe and Lexi Wells Resident Award – Dr. Dylan Djani (3rd-year Neurology)
- Resident of the Year Awards – Dr. Gabriela Escalante (Anesthesiology) and Dr. Kari Means (LA Surgery)
- Razzy Peterka Large Animal Technician Awards – Laura Allen and Jade Bricco
- Elliott Peterka Small Animal Technician Awards – Sara Branton and Kim Sherman
- School of Veterinary Medicine Instructor of the Year Award – Tina Wahl
- Walter F. Renk Distinguished Professor Award – Dr. Jyoti Watters
- Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence – Dr. Gillian McLellan
- Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award – Dr. Elizabeth Alvarez
Specialty Awards
- Ronald D. Schultz Excellence in Immunology Award – Nikhila Bharadwaj
- American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Certificate of Clinical Excellence Awards – Kevin Malott and Rashea Minor (small animal), Melissa Helstein (large animal)
- Gengler Veterinary Dental Award – Mitchel Pronga
- Equine Dentistry Award – Casey Waite
- Dueland Family Orthopedic Award – Brooke Lee
- American College of Veterinary Radiology Award – Claire McCauley
- American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology Award – Sarah Ann Stock
- Kaytee Avian & Special Species Excellence Award – Rashea Minor
- Applied Animal Behavior Award – Zachary Meyers
- School of Veterinary Medicine Oncology Award – Calandra Chuback
- Veterinary Cancer Society Bob Rosenthal Senior Student Award – Sally Ploch
- American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists Award – Claire McCauley
- VECCS Award for Proficiency in Emergency & Critical Care – Colette Manley
- Eberhard Rosin General Surgery Award – Kristine McMahon
- American College of Veterinary Pathologists Award for Excellence in Veterinary Pathology – Calandra Chuback
- Comparative Biosciences Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Student Research Award – Yinyu (Regina) Yuan
- School of Veterinary Medicine Student Research Award – Rashea Minor
- Richard F. Marsh Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award – Dr. Emily Binversie and Shaswath Sekar Chandrasekar
- Dechra Excellence in Dermatology Award – Marissa Gibbs
- Dechra Excellence in Small Animal Internal Medicine Award – Bailey Pietsch
- Dechra Excellence in Equine Sports Award – Casey Waite
- Zoetis Award for Research Excellence by a Graduate Student – Portia Smith
- Zoetis Award for Research Excellence by a House Officer – Dr. Annie Showers
- Zoetis Award for Research Excellence by a Summer Scholar – Ariela Burk
- Dr. William C. Campbell Excellence in Parasitology and Vector Biology Award – Dr. Ryan Larson
Large and Small Animal Awards
- American Animal Hospital Association Award for Proficiency in Primary Care – Jacob Lake
- American College of Veterinary Surgeons Foundation Student Surgical Proficiency Awards – Rachel Taber (small animal) and Claire McCauley (large animal)
- GenOvations Proficiency in Bovine Theriogenology Award – Leah Statz
- ABS Global, Inc. Award – Montana Lins
- Equine Podiatry Award – Jonathan Mason
- Excellence in Equine Ambulatory Medicine Award – Casey Waite
- Equitarian Award – Claire McCauley
- Hill’s Pet Nutrition Excellence in Clinical Nutrition Award – Emily Altkorn
- Nestlé Purina PetCare Nutrition Award – Bailey Pietsch
- Irongate Equine Award – Andrea Bell
- Wisconsin Large Animal Emergency Response Award – Claire McCauley
- John G. Evans Memorial Award – Jacklyn Greenspoon
- Rock Valley Veterinary Medical Association Award – Alexis Cavanaugh
Humanities Awards
- Olson & Severson Student Enrichment Samaritan Awards – Sally Ploch and Kayla Piskorowski
- Memorial Pet Services Award – Emily Weaver
- Hannah Cole Remember and Honor the Bond Award – Jeanette Cudney
- Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association William J. O’Rourke Memorial Award – Luci Krenzke
- Peter Bunn Award – Alexa Bertz
- Carolee Cutting Schueller Memorial Award – Sally Ploch
- Cathie Rauwald & Timothy Regan Memorial Awards – Catherine Ahnen and Kaitlin Sweeney
- Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Innovation Award – Zachary Meyers
- Josephine Walsh Compassion in Animal Care Award – Kristin Reichert
- Morrie Waud Equine Excellence Award – Michelle Gotteiner
- Morrie Waud Guardian Angel Award – Jordan Genovese
View 2022 Celebration of Excellence program and award descriptions