CVM student Alison McKay received this year’s scholarship from the Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.
Long committed to volunteerism, McKay finds time in her busy academic schedule to work with local rescue organizations like the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, Salem Friends of Felines, and Pro-Bone-O of Eugene, Oregon. She is the secretary for the CVM Shelter Medicine club and has organized several free wellness clinics for pets of senior citizens.
McKay will be starting her fourth year soon and plans to complete preceptorships at Corvallis Cat Care and West Vet, an internal medicine and emergency practice near Boise, Idaho. “I also plan to spend two weeks at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, spending
one week on cardiology and one week on internal medicine,” she says. “I am very interested in feline medicine, therefore my senior project will focus on CT imaging of cats with feline asthma.”
The Winn/AVMF scholarship came at a good time for McKay. Like many vet students, she has adopted homeless pets and when they get sick, the cost of veterinary care is added to the high cost of her education. “I plan to use the Winn money to pay off my cat’s vet bills,” she says.
