Paid in full: Veterinary student earns national $140,000 scholarship

Elizabeth Sandy was brought up in a family where money was tight. She worked two jobs to pay for the entirety of her undergraduate tenure at WSU Tri-Cities and was worried about the cost of veterinary school.

After earning the $140,000 Mike Dunn DVM Veterinary Student Scholarship, the financial burden of veterinary school is in the rearview - Sandy's veterinary education is now paid in full.

"I definitely shed some tears because I wasn't expecting to get it," Sandy said. "It feels amazing because paying for school was a big worry of mine. I worked two jobs throughout my undergraduate career to support myself. I knew I was going to have to take out loans for veterinary school, so this scholarship, it's a huge relief."

The Mike Dunn, DVM Veterinary Student Scholarship - a nationally competitive scholarship - is made possible by Becky Godchaux, an animal owner and lover who created the scholarship in her veterinarian's name. The scholarship, in just its first year, is awarded to two veterinary students in the U.S. through the VIN Foundation, but it is much more than a scholarship to Sandy.

"It's not just a scholarship but a representation of my journey and the obstacles I've overcome," she said.

The stress of paying for veterinary school wasn't the first burden Sandy conquered on her path to a white coat. The first-year veterinary student and WSU Tri-Cities alumna is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The hidden disability causes intense thoughts and feelings that can be disturbing for individuals and can make them recall traumatic events long after such an event has taken place.

Sandy learned to lean on a German shepherd puppy named Neo to cope with her disability during her undergraduate tenure.

Training the service dog was nothing new to Sandy. She raised and trained 15 service dogs for veterans with PTSD in the Tri-Cities area before Neo. It wasn't until after Neo's first wellness exam when he was diagnosed with an inherited ventricular arrhythmia, that she gained the confidence to believe she fit in the veterinary field.

Neo's diagnosis meant, without treatment, the puppy could experience a cardiac event at a young age that could result in sudden death.

But when Neo thrived in the face of adversity, Sandy knew she could too.

"I began to think, 'if Neo can do this, I can too,'" she said. "My passion to obtain my Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine was stronger than ever."

Sandy has carried that confidence, bolstered with some help from her mentor veterinarian Dr. Todd Coleman ('04 DVM) of Pet Medical Center of Pasco, into her first year of veterinary school at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Now, in addition to earning her veterinary degree, she wants to show students like her that achieving their dreams is possible.

"As an individual who identifies as both disabled and LGBTQ+, I have yet to encounter a veterinarian from either community," she said. "In my veterinary program, I want to serve as a role model and mentor for both communities and seek to inspire individuals who question their capacity to achieve their veterinary ambitions due to a lack of visible diversity within the profession."