Solutions for the Profession Competition

We’re here to help students get ahead

The VIN Foundation is excited to announce the winners for its 3rd Annual Solutions for the Profession Competition!

This year’s competition offered veterinary students an opportunity to share their thoughts on the current state of practice consolidation in the profession. The guidelines asked applicants to review positive and negative impacts of consolidation, along with how they see this change affecting the profession now and in the future. Nearly one hundred entries were submitted from around the world.

Judges found it difficult to select only three winners from the entries. The VIN Foundation Solutions for the Profession Committee selected the top twenty entries in the first round of judging. These essays were assessed by an additional round of judges, who passed the top three to well-known leaders in the veterinary profession. The final judges, after much discussion, selected the winners:

1. First place was awarded to Joanne Yi for her big fish little fish perspective on corporations versus the independent practices. Joanne is a second year student at the University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine.
2. Second place went to Joseph Marchell for his financial viewpoint on the impact of consolidation on the profession. Joseph is set to graduate this year from Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine.
3. Annie Showers won third place with her in-depth approach to polling hundreds of practicing veterinarians for their responses on the pros and cons of corporate ownership. Annie is a second year student at Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine.

There were many great entries and we will be featuring additional essays on the blog so stay tuned!

The next competition will start this Fall. If you are interested in entering or know someone who is, sign up for updates and stay tuned to our social media channels.

2018 winners:

1. First place was awarded to Paige Livingston, for her essay on ways to improve student debt education. Paige is entering her fourth year as a student at the University of California at Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.
2. Second place went to Cheyenne Cannarozzo for her innovative suggestion to add resilience to the core competency requirements for veterinary students. Cheyenne is entering her third year at the Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine.
3. Linnea Thraen won third place with her essay highlighting the need for improved business management education in veterinary school. Linnea has just graduated the University of Minnesota, School of Veterinary Medicine.

2017 winners:

1. First place was awarded to Hanum Wensil-Strow for her thought-provoking essay on the veterinary student debt situation. Hanum is in her fourth year has a student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She is interested in large animal medicine and wildlife conservation.
2. Second place went to Shannon Finn for her innovative approach to the mental health issues challenging colleagues in the veterinary profession. Shannon is in her fourth and final year at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Canada. She is hoping to go into rural food animal practice upon graduation, but also has interests in public health and regulatory medicine.
3. Alexandra Ripperger won third place for her inventive approach to gender inequality. Alexandra is in her fourth year as a veterinary student at the University of Minnesota. She enjoys working with small animals, and small ruminants/camelids.

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TERMS & CONDITIONS

Whether or not Entrant is a winner of the competition, Entrant represents that any essay and other materials submitted as part of Entrant’s entry are the original work of Entrant and not copied from any other source and will not constitute defamation or an invasion of privacy or otherwise infringe upon the rights of any third party, and that the Entrant owns or has the rights to convey any and all right and title in such essay.  By entering, Entrant grants to VIN Foundation and its affiliates a worldwide, nonexclusive, royalty-free license to edit, publish, promote, and republish at any time in the future and otherwise use all or part of Entrant’s submitted essay, along with Entrant’s name, photograph, likeness, statements, biographical information, and any other information provided by Entrant, in any and all media (including print and online), provided such use is consistent with VIN Foundation’s current or future mission and attribution is provided to Entrant, without further permission, notice, or compensation (except where prohibited by law). VIN Foundation is under no obligation to publish any entries, and any publication of an entry does not mean that entrant has won a prize.