This past weekend, Michigan State University (MSU) College of Veterinary Medicine students Rachel Baumgardner, Courtney Doan, and Anne Meyers took third place for overall team score at the 2015 Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest (AWJAC).

The AWJAC aims to strengthen student vocabulary and reasoning skills while providing a unique educational experience. The contest stems from a collaboration of faculty from MSU and Purdue University. They joined together to promote animal welfare science to university students by partnering it with livestock judging. The first competition was hosted at MSU in 2002 with four teams. Last year, there were a total of 28 teams.

This year’s event took place at The Ohio State University. During the competition, two teams of three students from MSU competed in two oral presentations. The live team assessment focused on Jersey dairy cattle, and the individual sessions, which were three-minute scenario-based slots focused on Asian elephants, llamas, and draft horses.

“It was really great that we had to make quick decisions,” said winning team member Anne Meyers, citing the decision making process and the opportunity to learn about uncommon species as valuable skills in veterinary science. Meyers said her team did a lot to prepare for the competition, including research, rehearsal questions, and attending guest presentations.

“The most helpful thing was when we had people come talk to us,” said Meyers, explaining how through Dr. Dalen Agnew, associate professor and pathologist at MSU, her team was able to connect with an Asian elephant timber camp specialist.

Meyers said that overall, the competition was a great experience and she hopes to compete again next year.