As three West Virginia University alumni prepare for the next stages of their collegiate careers, they can breathe a little easier knowing they have some financial support as recipients of scholarships from the H.E. “Doc” Kidder Memorial Trust.
Every year the trust provides recipients, all students in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, with thousands of dollars for each year of their post-baccalaureate instruction.
This year’s Kidder recipients are: Kaleena Kuehler, Auburn; Hannah Plaugher, Franklin; and Mary Salvatore, Stephens City, Virginia.
The students, all of whom graduated in May, will receive either $2,500 or $5,000 annually during their continued studies.
Kuehler, who earned a degree in animal and nutritional sciences and was awarded a $2,500 annual scholarship, has been accepted to the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. While at WVU she was a Davis-Michael Scholar and received the WV Blue and Gold Scholarship. This summer she plans to work with a large animal veterinarian. After completing her veterinary degree, Kuehler would like to work as a mixed practitioner in rural communities of West Virginia.
Plaugher, an animal and nutritional sciences graduate and a $2,500 annual scholarship awardee, has been accepted to the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. While in college, Plaugher was a Davis-Michael Scholar and volunteered at several veterinary clinics. She was also a volunteer for Volunteers for Intercultural and Definitive Adventures in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Salvatore, a $5,000 annual scholarship recipient and human nutrition and foods graduate, has been accepted as a candidate for the masters of public health degree program in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University. She received several scholarship at WVU including the WV Blue and Gold Scholarship, the Phi Upsilon Omicron Rachel Colwell Scholarship. She was co-president of the Student Association of Nutrition and Dietetics and assisted in the research project Choose to Change.
The memorial trust honors the late H.E. “Doc” Kidder, professor emeritus of animal and veterinary sciences in the Davis College. He had a distinguished career at WVU as a researcher and educator, serving from 1954 to 1988. After his death in 1989, his will created the trust to support Davis College students in their graduate or professional education. Selection is based on academic performance with added consideration for leadership and financial need.
The Davis College is also home to the Davis-Michael Scholars Program, a challenging track that prepares students for continued education in medical professions and the sciences. The Division also holds reciprocal agreements with several out-of-state schools of veterinary medicine that secure spaces for qualified WVU graduates.