Incoming DVM student Kellie Rizzolo has been named the recipient of the 2017 Preveterinary Leadership Award. Each year, this award is presented by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) and its Admissions and Recruitment Committee to one preveterinary student in the country. The recipient must be an undergraduate student that is active member of an established preveterinary club or association. They also must have applied to veterinary school during that year’s VMCAS application cycle.

Rizzolo was selected for her leadership within the preveterinary community at Michigan State University. The AAVMC will be reimbursing Rizzolo’s Veterinary Medical College Application Service application fee and donating $500 to the MSU Preveterinary Medical Association in her honor.

“We are excited for Kellie to receive this national recognition,” says Hilda Mejia Abreu, assistant dean for Admissions, Scholarships, and Diversity and Inclusion. “It is a testament to her leadership skills, and we look forward to having her join the College this fall.” 

Rizzolo will be joining the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine as a first-year DVM student. During her undergraduate education, she served as the president of the MSU Preveterinary Medical Association, and also was a recipient of the American Preveterinary Medical Association’s 2017 Outstanding Senior Award.

A Michigan native, Rizzolo earned a bachelor’s degree from MSU in animal science with a concentration in production animal scholars. She was given the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her volunteer work with African livestock systems in South Africa and Swaziland. Rizzolo has been extensively involved in production animal research, during which time she worked with the soil-plant-animal continuum in Nepalese water buffalo, and now is analyzing the genetic traits influencing the sale price of performance-tested beef bulls in Michigan. She plans to become a bovine practitioner after graduating from the College.