2023 SVM Celebration of Excellence Awards

Scott Spaulding DVM’91 (right) presented Zachary Tooley DVMx’23 (left) with the prestigious Peter Bunn Award

On Saturday, April 29, students, faculty, staff, and friends gathered in the Wisconsin Ballroom at the Madison Concourse Hotel 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. Kelsey Brown
  • Zoe and Lexi Wells Small Animal Technician Awards – Heather Bonti (Primary Care) and Nicole Schramka (Anesthesia)
  • Zoe and Lexi Wells Large Animal Technician Award – Rachel Borchardt
  • Zoe and Lexi Wells Technologist of the Year Award – Robin Hoebbel (Clinical Pathology)
  • Zoe and Lexi Wells Resident Award – Dr. Kelly Flynn (Cardiology)
  • Resident of the Year Awards – Dr. Katie Hausmann (Special Species) and Dr. Teagan DeForge (SA Surgery)
  • Razzy Peterka Large Animal Technician Award – Paige Schroeder
  • Elliott Peterka Small Animal Technician Award – Heather Ladwig
  • School of Veterinary Medicine Instructor of the Year Award – Katie Harmelink
  • Boehringer Ingelheim Summer Scholars Mentor of the Year Award – Dr. Robert Lipinski
  • John Sowers Memorial Dental Resident Award – Dr. Michael Congiusta
  • Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence – Dr. Mostafa Zamanian
  • Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award – Dr. Tracy Baker

Specialty Awards

  • Ronald D. Schultz Excellence in Immunology Award – Rachel Hildebrand
  • American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Certificate of Clinical Excellence Awards – Savannah Brauer (large animal), Kendal Valentine and Kate Kudrna (small animal)
  • Equine Dentistry Award – Ellianna Cory
  • Dueland Family Orthopedic Award – Anne Pankowski
  • American College of Veterinary Radiology Award – Rey Chi
  • American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology Award – Kevin Kasza
  • Kaytee Avian & Special Species Excellence Award – Dane Gallagher
  • Applied Animal Behavior Award – Brooke Zader
  • School of Veterinary Medicine Oncology Award – Kendal Valentine
  • Veterinary Cancer Society Bob Rosenthal Senior Student Award – Rey Chi
  • American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists Award – Allie Ludwig
  • VECCS Award for Proficiency in Emergency & Critical Care – Carianne Brei
  • Eberhard Rosin General Surgery Award – Joseph Thurston
  • American College of Veterinary Pathologists Award for Excellence in Veterinary Pathology – Brittney Moore
  • Comparative Biosciences Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Student Research Award – Keegan Lim
  • School of Veterinary Medicine Student Research Award – Zach Tooley
  • Dechra Excellence in Dermatology Award – Marissa Schmitz
  • Dechra Excellence in Small Animal Internal Medicine Award – Maggie Jensen
  • Dechra Excellence in Equine Sports Medicine Award – Morgan Falk
  • Zoetis Award for Research Excellence by a Graduate Student or Postdoc – Serena George
  • Zoetis Award for Research Excellence by an Intern or Resident – Alaina Houghton-Chamberlain
  • Zoetis Awards for Research Excellence by a DVM Summer Scholar – Andrew Smith and Patrick Carroll
  • William C. Campbell Excellence in Parasitology and Vector Biology Award – Leah Owens

Large and Small Animal Awards

  • American Animal Hospital Association Award for Proficiency in Primary Care – Cearra Burt
  • American College of Veterinary Surgeons Foundation Student Surgical Proficiency Awards – Alexander Chu (small animal) and Shay Lierman (large animal)
  • American Association of Feline Practitioners Award – Alexa Hodkiewics
  • GenOvations Proficiency in Bovine Theriogenology Award – Claiborn Lins
  • ABS Global, Inc. Award – Wade Weber
  • Equine Podiatry Award – Carli Boston-Denton
  • Excellence in Equine Ambulatory Medicine Award – Savannah Brauer
  • Equitarian Award – Ashley Mercier
  • Hill’s Pet Nutrition Excellence in Clinical Nutrition Award – Christina Tsai
  • Nestlé Purina PetCare Nutrition Award – Allie Ludwig
  • Irongate Equine Award – Carli Boston-Denton
  • John G. Evans Memorial Award – Jordan Genovese
  • Rock Valley Veterinary Medical Association Award – Rey Chi

Humanities Awards

  • Olson & Severson Student Enrichment Samaritan Awards – Tatiana Noel and Emma Kobitter
  • Memorial Pet Services Award – Rachel Neuses
  • Hannah Cole Remember and Honor the Bond Award – Hannah McAnulty
  • Peter Bunn Award – Zach Tooley
  • Carolee Cutting Schueller Memorial Award – Samuel Rentmeester
  • Cathie Rauwald & Timothy Regan Memorial Award – Christina Tsai
  • Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association William J. O’Rourke Memorial Award – Zach Tooley
  • Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Innovation Award – Anne Pankowski
  • Josephine Walsh Compassion in Animal Care Award – Oleg Broytman
  • Morrie Waud Equine Excellence Award – Savannah Coslett (Pees)
  • Morrie Waud Guardian Angel Award – Eagle Richter

View 2023 Celebration of Excellence program and award descriptions


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