Hard work and accountability have paid off for rising junior Donovan Grady. The general agriculture major with a pre-vet concentration is UMES’ first recipient of the Diversify Veterinary Medicine Coalition Scholarship. The aspiring veterinarian will receive $5,000 per semester over the next two years ($20,000) toward his education at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
“Donovan is like my third arm. I can always count on him to have the animal knowledge needed to help treat anything on the UMES Farm,” said Kimberly Braxton, UMES’ veterinarian and an assistant professor and pre-vet faculty advisor. “He excels at everything he does and he’s only halfway through his undergraduate studies!”
The scholarship is awarded through the 1890 Universities Foundation to provide financial assistance to “highly qualified, deserving and diverse” students attending the 19 land-grant universities who are committed to pursuing a career in veterinary medicine.
“Here at DVMC, we strive to increase BIPOC representation in our esteemed veterinary medical profession. Beyond financial support, we also offer our organization and its board members as resources to the scholarship recipients as they continue forward in their educational programs,” said Dr. Kemba Marshall, a practicing veterinarian and an executive consultant for the Diversify Veterinary Medicine Coalition.
Grady, who calls Mardela Springs home, has been a student worker on the UMES farm for the past two years, caring for the sheep and goats in UMES Extension’s Small Ruminant Program. He one day hopes to focus on large animal veterinary medicine.
“The unique experiences at the UMES farm have helped cultivate this passion I have for veterinary sciences,” Grady said. “I’m very thankful for the support I’ve gotten and am excited to continue working hard in pursuing this endeavor.”
“We are very proud of our first recipient of this scholarship. There is a tremendous need for veterinarians and it is encouraging to see an ambitious young man such as Donovan going down this pathway,” said Dr. Moses T. Kairo, dean of UMES’ School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences. “The university is looking forward to establishing a new School of Veterinary Medicine to support and fulfill the national need for these professionals.”
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850.
Photos by Todd Dudek, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, tdudek@umes.edu
Pictured below (from left), Stephan Tubene, professor and acting chair of UMES’ Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Sciences; Moses T. Kairo, professor and dean of the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences; Kimberly Braxton, assistant professor and UMES veterinarian; UMES President Heidi M. Anderson; and Rondall Allen, provost and vice president for academic affairs; congratulate UMES pre-vet student Donovan Grady (center) on receiving a Diversify Veterinary Medicine Coalition Scholarship; the first for the university.
