Purdue University veterinary students are making their mark on the national cattle industry, earning scholarships and recognition at one of the country’s largest gatherings of bovine veterinarians.
Seventeen students from the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine traveled to Minneapolis last month for the 59th annual conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP), where two Purdue students received significant national honors.
For Jill Grantz, a member of Purdue’s DVM Class of 2028, the conference brought two major achievements.
Grantz was one of just nine third- and fourth-year veterinary students nationwide selected for the $10,000 Merck Animal Health Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award, recognizing students demonstrating a strong commitment to bovine veterinary medicine.
She also was one of only two veterinary students selected for the 2026 Hunter Lang Dairy Welfare Scholarship. The scholarship was established by the family of Dr. Hunter Lang, a longtime AABP leader who served on the organization’s Board of Directors and Animal Welfare Committee and as an AABP delegate to the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates.
The scholarship provides financial support to veterinary students pursuing interests in dairy practice and animal welfare.
Grantz shared the honor with Rebecca Dorn of the University of Minnesota.
Purdue student recognized for reproductive medicine
Another Purdue veterinary student, Mikey Galvin, a member of the DVM Class of 2027, was selected for the Edwin Robertson Memorial Scholarship.
Administered through the AABP Foundation, the scholarship provides $1,000 awards to two veterinary students to help fund specialized experiences in theriogenology, embryo transfer or advanced reproductive techniques.
Galvin was unable to attend the conference, but his selection was announced during the awards program.
The recognition underscores the growing opportunities available to Purdue students interested in the specialized skills increasingly used in modern beef and dairy production.
Strong Purdue presence
Purdue’s presence at the conference extended well beyond the awards.
Faculty and staff attending included Dr. Andy Hubner, clinical assistant professor of Farm Animal Field Services; Dr. Laura May, food animal clinician in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences; and Rebecca Hoffman, BS, RVT, a bovine/swine field service veterinary technologist.
Purdue also had a prominent connection to the conference’s leadership.
Dr. Mark Hilton (PU DVM ’83), Purdue professor emeritus and veterinary alumnus, served as AABP president and the 2026 program chair.
Other Purdue students attending included eight members of the DVM Class of 2029—Zoey DeLaney, Connor Guest, Adalyn Harsh, Grant Heuing, Joe Lafiosca, Katie McKinley, Mason Tipton and Aidan Walker—and eight members of the DVM Class of 2028: Rainer Borgmann, Annalyssa Crain, Sam Currie, Maddie Dawson, Taylor Faulkenberg, Emma Roberts, Anne Troyer and Julia Young.
Borgmann and Grantz also presented research posters during the meeting.
Building the next generation of cattle veterinarians
Held Aug. 27-29 under the theme “Developing Practices of Excellence,” the AABP conference brought together more than 900 participants, including nearly 270 veterinary students.
The conference provides continuing education covering the health and management challenges facing beef and dairy operations while giving veterinary students an opportunity to connect with practitioners, researchers and industry leaders.
For Purdue, the strong student participation—and the national recognition earned by Grantz and Galvin—highlights the university’s continued role in preparing the next generation of veterinarians to serve cattle producers.
For farmers and ranchers, that pipeline matters.
As cattle operations become increasingly focused on herd health, reproductive efficiency, animal welfare and production economics, the need for veterinarians with specialized knowledge of bovine medicine continues to grow.
The Purdue students attending the AABP conference were not simply observing that future—they were beginning to build their place in it.
