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SUPPORTING THE RVC
Alumni funds have also supported many other areas of student life at the RVC and here are just a few examples:
Equestrian Club matched funding
Alumni funds helped the Equestrian team pay for extra training ahead of
the regional finals. We were able to match the money raised at the team’s mounted games fundraiser, where the team competed in a series of horseback relay races on ponies kindly provided by Greenacres Equestrian Centre. In the build up to the event, people were able to donate towards the team they thought would win. The tickets of the winning team then went into a prize draw.
Teaching simulators
Thanks to alumni support we have been able to fund three specialist simulators to enable students to improve their knowledge and gain confidence by practicing clinical skills on life-size anatomical models before working with live animals. See page 68 for more information on the equine colic simulator.
Travel grants
Alumni donations have funded three travel grants, providing invaluable experiences for three students and enabling them to increase their knowledge in areas of specific interest, gain skills in presenting their work to their contemporaries and inform their future career paths.
Approximately £3,000 is awarded to students each year. Priority is given to applicants requesting help with the cost of farm animal placements, as these are often in rural locations where travel and accommodation options can be limited. As part of their application, students are required to identify specific benefits that the placement will bring to their veterinary training. Applications are judged by two members of academic staff, with five to eight awards made every six months.
CONGRATULATIONS to the following 14 BVetMed students who were awarded bursaries for EMS placements in 2019: Stephanie Archer, Lauren Brown, Emily Campbell, Wai Yin Chung, Freya Cooper, Kelly Davies, Eleanor Evans, Peter Francis, Charlotte Hitch, Jasmine Jones, Vivienne Salt, Grace Twitchett, Hana Ward and Dylan Yaffy.
Dylan Yaffy’s EMS placement took him to the Isle of Man. Reflecting on his experiences, he says: “Thanks
to the RVC Graduates Association EMS Bursary, I was able to return
to the Milan Veterinary Practice after spending three weeks seeing mixed practice there last summer. This time around, it was calving season and before I even had the chance to say
hi on my first day, we were on our way to an emergency caesarian. My farm animal experience didn't stop there. Over the course of the two weeks
I assisted with a few more difficult calvings, performed my first bull surgical castrations and finished
off the placement scrubbing into an
LDA and closing up my first cow flank incision. The beauty of seeing mixed practice was that on the same day as treating a calf with bloat, I did a lameness work up on a laminitic pony, monitored anaesthesia for a guinea pig enucleation and performed a solo bitch spay. A busy rotations schedule may delay my return once again, but I have a feeling the next time I'm on the Isle of Man it's going to be a more permanent stay.”
There are also the Homfray Awards. The Homfray Awards are made available because of a generous donation from The Mary Homfray Charitable Trust, via Mary’s grandson and RVC alumnus, Matthew Homfray. The fund is to support BVetMed students facing financial hardship and makes a big difference to the students receiving it.
Over 2018 and 2019, ten students have received funding from the Homfray awards and we are extremely grateful to Matthew and his family for their support.
These are just a couple of the bursaries available to our students, thanks to the financial donations we receive.
We are incredibly grateful to our alumni who are able to contribute in this way, and to all our donations received to
the Alumni Fund. As you can see, they make a huge difference! To find out more about the way donations have helped our students, you can read about it in our latest RVC4Life publication, available online:
www.rvc.ac.uk/rvc4life-alumni/ support-the-rvc
You can help our current students overcome financial difficulties and successfully complete their studies by donating online at www.rvc.ac.uk/alumni-fund
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