Division of Communications and Marketing release
MANHATTAN — Seven students in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University have been chosen for the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas, or VTPRK, a loan forgiveness program funded by the state of Kansas.
The new recipients are first-year veterinary students Alexis Hansen, Belleville; Katherine Mongeau, Garden City; Madison Evje, Manhattan; Jenna Spencer, Mound City; Harley Allen, Parsons; Sydney Rohlman, Pretty Prairie; and Callista Moore, Topeka.
"This class of candidates was very competitive," said Hodes Family Dean Bonnie Rush. "These awardees join a tradition of excellence established by talented and dedicated VTPRK alumni who are serving livestock producers and pet owners in rural areas across the state."
The Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas was originally passed by the state Legislature in 2006 as a financial incentive to provide rural areas in Kansas with committed veterinarians, and it was enhanced in 2022 based on the program's demonstrated success in increasing the availability of veterinary care in rural Kansas.
Currently, upon completion of their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, each student is required to work at a full-time veterinary practice in one of 92 Kansas counties with fewer tthan 40,000 residents. For each year the students work in rural Kansas, up to $25,000 per year of qualifying student loans are forgiven over a period of four years