Kendra Elliott studies at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A future veterinarian has completed a hat-trick by winning a $10,000 national 4-H scholarship for the third time.
Kendra Elliott, who’s in her fourth year of study at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, received the Weston Family 4-H Agricultural Scholarship last month.
Growing up on a cattle farm near Cromer, Man., Elliott joined the Pipestone 4-H Beef & Heifer Club when she was five years old. She’s participated in 4-H ever since, including joining clubs in Saskatchewan after moving there for school.
She credits 4-H with helping shape the person she is today.
“The reason that I am who I am has a lot to do with the people who were willing to volunteer their time,” she told The Reston Recorder yesterday. “The people who got involved – my 4-H leaders, the people who put the extra time and that extra effort to helping people develop – it’s what makes our society better.”
The scholarship money also will set Elliott up in a good situation post-graduation.
Instead of wondering how to pay back expensive student loans, she’ll be able to focus on career development.
“I am in the rare, rare position in that I will be debt free, so I’ll be able to start saving and hopefully become a practice owner sooner,” she said. “The fact that I’ll be able to get a jump start on that means I’ll be able to continue being a 4-H leader and giving back to the community, instead of worrying about working 80 hours a week to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. That’s pretty exciting.”
University of Saskatchewan photo