Vince's Pre-Veterinary Student Scholarship
10/22/2025
NEW: Scroll down to check out the 2025 winners!
2026 Pre-Veterinary Scholarship
The older I get, the more compassion I feel toward animals, which is why I have tremendous admiration and respect for those of you who are planning to care for animals in the future.
To show my support, I'm offering an annual scholarship which will take the form of a $500 award to two winners every year.
Student Scholarship Criteria
- You're enrolled in good standing in an animal sciences or similar type of undergraduate program in the United States with the intention of going to veterinary school afterwards.
- You have an overall GPA of 3.33 or higher.
Application Requirements and Deadline
The application period for the scholarship begins on October 22nd, 2025, and students may submit applications through October 15th, 2026. The recipients of the awards will be announced on October 22nd, 2026 and notified by email.
Winners of past years' scholarships are not eligible.
How to Apply
To apply, please submit all of the following in one email to vince (at) vincekotchian.com with the subject line "2026 Pre-Vet Scholarship":
- Your first and last name
- Your email address
- Your current college
- Your GPA
- Your expected graduation date
- Your current course of study / major
- An original poem, written by you, in an attachment to the email.
- You must have someone create a NEW "do-follow" link anywhere on your school's website, or any other website, to this page (https://vincekotchian.com/blog/gre/vinces-pre-veterinary-student-scholarship). Include that link in your email to me. This helps ensure more people find out about the scholarship.
- If you use AI to write your poem or edit it, may God have mercy on your soul.
The Poem
Applicants must also submit a poem - yes, a poem - of no more than 500 words. Rather than write yet another scholarship essay about why you want to work with animals, I'd rather hear your voice in a different context.
"The pen is mightier than the sword" is not an empty phrase; the ability to convey emotion through writing is a valuable skill, and one that's increasingly neglected, in my view, in our STEM-focused education system.
The poem must be at least somewhat related to animals in some way. Other than that, you have carte blanche.
If you're serious about winning, please take the poem seriously and give it your best shot, since it is the sole criterion I will use to decide the winners!
If you win, I will share your poem and a photo of you (that you'll send me if you win) on this blog when I announce the winners. If you're cool with that, please apply.
Best of luck in your studies and beyond,
Vince
2025 Winners and Poems
Jen Park, for Species: Homo Sapiens, Habitat: Fish Bowl
Gavrielle Steele, for To The Great Equus
Species: Homo sapiens
Habitat: fish bowl
By Jen Park
Tucked away in a corner of a cross
on a trio of busy streets in the city of Matthew
– made for a mission for gospel of Christ –
my exhale fogs the cold space between me
and the water of the aquarium, filled fish upon fish,
my reflection contained in a poor vanity.
The fish differ in color and size and
species and life, sharing nothing but the cramping lack of space;
one, Squalus suckleyi, struggles to swim (to breathe).
He swims in ragged loops, belly–up on
the sides of the tank, nose skimming the surface as he thrashes
futile, useless, until he can no longer heave.
The dozen other live fish pay no mind;
with no concept of anything but survive, survive –
the fish are stacked and stacked and priced and stacked until –
Standing under the brightly marked ‘Seafood’
tucked away between unending rows of prices and cardboard,
suddenly, I realize, I have witnessed a death.
There is something in the way you can see
that death can be slow, be painful, be something not meant to be.
The dogfish dies, miles from habitat, from home.
There are some times you cannot face mirrors
as what’s looking back isn’t you – can’t be you – and the feeling
of being underwater settles in your bones.
To The Great Equus
by Gavrielle Steele
Smoke…dust…death
The air reeks of hell, gunpowder, and the sweat of exertion. Nostrils flare as the General
barks “FIRE!” to his regiment.
Ears pivot as the cannonball whistles through the air, screams of terror bellow though
your throat as your feet soar through the air.
Pats caress your neck settling the feelings of horror as death once again fills your
olfactory.
“Oh, war horse how proud you are, standing here without fear of the future. How brave
you are to carry me on your back, through blood, rain, and snow.”
Rumbling thunder…golden sun…scared hearts beating as one
The great planes before you; chasing a buffalo’s tail. The cry of the warrior echoes on
your back. Bright hands of red on your shoulders, rings of blue round your eyes,
feathers darning your mane.
The ground shakes beneath your hooves creating the drumbeats of life…until a buffalo
lies dead at your feet. Your protector morns…the scared heartbeat that is no more.
“Oh, gentle creature, your fire you do dim. Humble and obedient you yield to the leg of
your leader. Playing a scared role in creation only you could comprehend.”
Chains rattle…voices holler…smell of earth lingers in the air
The leather rubs; sweat foams around your neck in the hot sun. The clink of the chains
and rocks against metal sing in your ears. Your partner stands beside you as you push
through the earth.
The driver pulls to a halt, offering water from a wooden bucket. Gentle strokes down
your face encourage you to drink your fill.
“Oh, work horse, towering you do stand. But a steward of the earth you have made me.
How strong you are to work without complaint. Pushing forward through even the
hardest of ground.”
Laughter…shrills of joy…. the sweet smell of hoof oil
Arena sand soft beneath you, the laughter of a child on your back, long days of steady
work that lead to the sure reward of a child’s glee. Brushes draw the hair from your
gleaming coat, and an embrace of love engulfs your neck.
Not all days are wonderful, sometimes you are sore from a fall, some days you reach
your breaking and buck. But words of praise and concern always follow from the rider
that loves you so dear.
“Oh, school master, your patience does astound me. How you can be kind and
generous of your gifts. Teaching those that marvel at your presence. If only we trusted
to follow your lead, how much more genuine we would be.”
To the great Equus that boldly carries us into battle, carries our hunters, plows our
fields, teaches our young. To the great Equus we do not always treat as we should. To
the great Equus…to the horse…to our friend…have mercy on us for we are eternally
indebted to you.