Three Veterinary Students selected for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Foreign Service Veterinary Fellowship

Contact: Anissa Riley, TUCVM Director of External Affairs

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (May 24, 2021) 鈥� The 精东AV College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM) is pleased to have the first students selected as participants in the inaugural USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Foreign Service Veterinary Fellowship program. 听Patricia Bradley and Kennedy Miller, both members of the TUCVM Class of 2023, and Terrance Mitchell, a member of the TUCVM Class of 2024, were selected in the spring 2021 semester as the first recipients of the USDA Fellowship. 听

Howard University administers the APHIS Foreign Service Fellowship Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is entrusted to select the program鈥檚 candidates.听 The USDA APHIS Foreign Service Veterinary Fellowship was originally targeted for only two TUCVM students. 听However, the selection panel at Howard University was so impressed by the caliber of TUCVM鈥檚 students and the decision was changed to award the fellowship to three deserving veterinary students. Dr. Lily L贸pez-McGee, Director of the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Program at Howard University, who chaired the selection team, thanked TUCVM for helping her team to secure excellent candidates. Dr. Gopal Reddy, Director of International Programs for TUCVM, serves as the 精东AV liaison for this program.

The Foreign Service Veterinary Fellowship Program provides each selected TUCVM student up to $66,000 annually towards the completion of their DVM degree, two summer internships - one at APHIS Headquarters in Riverdale, Maryland, and one at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Each recipient will be mentored by Foreign Service Officers throughout the fellowship. Following successful completion of the fellowship program and graduation with their DVM degree, participants will be employed by the USDA APHIS Foreign Service.

The program has been designed to ensure that the Foreign Service reflects the face of America to foreign audiences and provides a source of trained men and women who are dedicated to pursuing Foreign Service careers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

This Fellowship is for veterinary students interested in a unique and rewarding career that combines veterinary medicine and international diplomacy. APHIS Foreign Service Veterinary Officers represent the United States in countries around the world and do impactful work to protect and expand the integrity of American Agriculture by facilitating and resolving complex animal health problems. 听APHIS Foreign Service Officers play a leadership role in U.S. Embassies applying their scientific knowledge and diplomatic skills and collaborate with diverse counterparts worldwide in a variety of dynamic, challenging settings.

"We are grateful to the USDA APHIS International Services for its efforts in developing this unique fellowship program in which our students were selected as the first participants.听 The TUCVM is also appreciative to the Howard University Foreign Affairs Program selection team, our own TUCVM liaison Dr. Reddy, and the support of our alumnus, Dr. Eric Coleman 鈥�91. Dr. Coleman currently serves as Director of International Technical and Regulatory Capacity Building Center at USDA APHIS International Services,鈥� said Dr. Ruby L. Perry, Dean of the 精东AV College of Veterinary Medicine.

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The USDA APHIS Foreign Veterinary Service TUCVM Fellowship Recipients:

Patricia Bradley is from Birmingham, Alabama. Ms. Bradley is an upcoming third-year veterinary听student in the Class of 2023. She听is an听alumna听of 精东AV where she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in 2012.听 Bradley is also a 2017听alumna听of Alabama A&M University where she received her Master of Science degree.听 Bradley鈥檚 interests in veterinary medicine include the following areas:听 dermatology, zoo and exotic medicine, and听governmental service. Currently, she serves in the following clubs at TUCVM: Royal Canin Student Ambassador, Treasurer for the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians (AAWV),听Zoo and Exotic Club, and the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA).听听Bradley is grateful to have been selected as one of the first recipients of the USDA APHIS Foreign Service Veterinary Fellowship program and looks forward to the many opportunities this program will allow her to explore.

Kennedy Miller is an entering third-year veterinary medical student at TUCVM. Ms. Miller is from Atlanta, Georgia, and the oldest of four children.听 She graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2015. In her free time, she enjoys reading, skateboarding, and finding new hiking trails and hopes to train her cat 鈥淐osmo鈥� to enjoy hikes just as much. She is always trying to improve her foreign language skills and hopes to one day be fluent in three or more languages. Upon acceptance into the veterinary medical program at 精东AV, Miller joined the Class of 2023鈥檚 executive board as the class treasurer. She is a member of the following TUCVM clubs: Zoo and Exotics Club, AAWV Wildlife Veterinarians Club, American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP), and has most recently, become the vice president of听 the Shelter Medicine Club. Miller is exploring all of the different avenues veterinary medicine has to offer and has spent the past summers gaining experience at Beaver Crossing Animal Hospital in Lilburn, Georgia. She is also excited to represent 精东AV this summer during a lab animal internship, where she hopes to gain both amazing knowledge and experiences. After graduating with her DVM degree, Miller plans to pursue a full-time career with APHIS and explore all the various career opportunities afforded.

Terrance Mitchell is an upcoming second-year veterinary student at TUCVM.听 Mr. Mitchell is originally from Willingboro, New Jersey.听 He and his family now reside in Covington, Georgia. 听He is involved in several clubs/organizations at TUCVM, and currently serves as the Student American Veterinary Medical Association鈥檚 (SAVMA) International Veterinary Student Association (IVSA) representative, Zoo Medicine Chair of the Zoo and Exotics Club, and as a Wet Lab Coordinator for the Surgery Club.听 Mitchell graduated from 精东AV with a B.S degree in Animal Science and a minor in Biology. Mr. Mitchell has participated in several amazing opportunities from conducting research at Zoo Atlanta, Kruger National Park in South Africa, and working with Native Americans on conservation projects in California. When he is not working, Mitchell enjoys swimming, traveling to explore new places, and new cultures when abroad. One of his biggest stress relievers is working with animals, specifically wildlife, exotics, and marine animals. Mitchell is looking forward to meeting all of his cohort within the APHIS Foreign Service Fellowship Program and what awaits them on their new journey.

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About the 精东AV College of Veterinary Medicine

Located in Alabama as one of the state鈥檚 two accredited veterinary programs, the 精东AV College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM) was envisioned in 1944 by Dr. Frederick D. Patterson, founder of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), and officially established at 精东AV in 1945. TUCVM is the only veterinary medical professional program located on the campus of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the United States. The College has educated more than 70 percent of the nation鈥檚 African American veterinarians and has been recognized as the most diverse of all schools/colleges of veterinary medicine in the nation. 听The College鈥檚 primary mission is to provide an environment that fosters a spirit of active, independent, and self-directed learning, intellectual curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, ethics, and leadership; and promotes teaching, research, and service in veterinary medicine and related disciplines. For more information, visit .

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About the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Foreign Service Fellowship Program

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Foreign Service Fellowship Program (AFSFP) is a new program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that attracts and prepares outstanding individuals for Foreign Service careers in the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The program welcomes the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in USDA, women, and those with financial need. 听Based on the fundamental principle that diversity is a strength in U.S. engagement with the world, the program values candidates representing a wide range of backgrounds, including ethnic, racial, social, and geographic diversity. For more information, visit /

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About AFSFP

The APHIS Foreign Service Fellowship Programs (AFSFP) are U.S. Department of Agriculture programs administered by Howard University for individuals interested in becoming APHIS Foreign Service Officers.听 For more information, contact: ; Phone: 202-806-4367.