Kelsey Martin, a third year student in the Colorado State University Veterinary program, has been awarded the Bayer Livestock Scholarship. Martin is one of the 10 total recipients nominated for the scholarship, and the only member from CSU.

Martin, the daughter of a ranch manager on the eastern plains of Colorado, grew up around cattle on different ranches across the eastern plains.

Martin originally went to school in Louisiana to study art and architecture. However, she soon realized that she wanted to go to veterinary school, and after applying to different colleges was accepted to the CSU program. 

“The driving factor was this was my home state, but really one of the big things is CSU is one of the top ranking vet schools,” Martin said. “I applied to a lot of other vet schools, but when I got into CSU I knew I wanted to go there.” 

While at CSU in the vet program, Martin was nominated by a fourth year student on her palpation team, who was also the Bayer food animal representative for the Bayer Livestock Scholarship. 

This scholarship program was created through a partnership between Bayer and American Royal and provided recipients with $2,000. This is the first time that the scholarship has been awarded.

According to a post by American Royal, the scholarship program “is designed to provide an opportunity for outstanding veterinary students to advocate on behalf of the animal health industry, Bayer, and the American Royal Association.”

Martin stated this scholarship provided her with help and support for her in her educational career going forward and, eventually, into her future career. 

While she is not completely sure what she wants to do as of right now, Martin is deeply interested in livestock and equine medicine, as she is working on tracking large animals at CSU currently.

She is also interested in international aid relief. She has worked in Peru and, because of this, she is also interested in pursuing a career in international medicine and public health.

“It will definitely support my education endeavors,” Martin said. “During fourth year we take a lot of time traveling to other veterinary clinics and pursue possible other jobs and unique education opportunities, and I think the scholarship will be a big aid in traveling to all these different veterinary clinics.” 

Martin added that while the scholarship provided her with the funds to travel to other clinics, it has also provided extra motivation for a field that she claims does not contain a lot of people. 

“It reinvigorates the motivation of what I’m doing in pursuing a sort of small field,” Martin said.

Collegian reporter Austin Fleskes can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07.