AASV Veterinary Student Activities at the 2019 Annual Meeting
March 9-12, 2019 - Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Florida

It is part of the mission of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians to "mentor students, encouraging life-long careers as swine veterinarians." To help fulfill this mission, the association encourages veterinary students to attend the AASV annual meeting and offers a variety of activities for student participation during the conference:

FREE REGISTRATION
Registration for the AASV annual meeting is FREE for AASV Veterinary Student Members. Student registration for the meeting includes attendance at the scientific sessions, the online conference proceedings, Monday luncheon, Monday awards reception, Tuesday breakfast, and admission to the company-sponsored social events. In addition, veterinary students may register for most of the pre-conference seminars free of charge!

$200 TRAVEL STIPEND
Each veterinary student who attends the AASV Annual Meeting receives a $200 (US$) travel stipend, courtesy of Newport Laboratories and the AASV Foundation! To qualify, you must be a current Student AASV Member AND you must pre-register for the meeting by February 15. When you register for the meeting, you will receive an email message within a few days, confirming that you qualify for the stipend. If you don’t receive the confirmation message, contact AASV prior to the meeting to make sure you are registered! Pick up your check in person at the meeting registration desk.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS
As always, students are invited to join veterinarians during AASV committee meetings the morning of Saturday, March 9. You can find the list of committees, meeting times, and room numbers here and in the AASV mobile app. Although students are not eligible to vote, you are welcome to listen, ask questions, and add your input.

VET HUNT
This fun activity provides the opportunity to network with veterinarians at the conference. When you arrive at the meeting, look in your registration packet for the list of participating vets, then introduce yourself, visit with, and collect the business cards of at least ten of them to qualify for the prize drawing, held during the Merck Student Reception on Sunday evening.

STUDENT TRIVIA EVENT
Join fellow students on Saturday, March 9th for a fun-filled, interactive evening of Swine Veterinary Medicine Trivia! Teams will be arranged when you arrive. The competition will begin at 7:00 PM in the Blue Bar at the Buena Vista Palace (conference hotel). Appetizers and beverages will be served, thanks to sponsor Merck Animal Health.

STUDENT BREAKFAST
Enjoy a breakfast buffet, compliments of the AASV, with fellow veterinary students and faculty advisors on Sunday, March 10 at 6:30 AM in Citron East-West.

STUDENT PRE-CONFERENCE SEMINAR
For several years now, the AASV has offered a very popular pre-conference seminar designed especially for new and soon-to-be veterinarians: Seminar #10, Swine Medicine for Students. Registration is free for veterinary students and '17 and '18 DVM graduates.

PRE-CONFERENCE SEMINARS
Students may register for most of the numbered pre-conference seminars free-of-charge (however, Seminar #5 is limited to DVMs only, and Seminar #6 does not qualify for the fee waiver, sorry). You may register for one seminar on Saturday and one on Sunday. If registering online, the system will recognize your Student registration and allow you to select two seminars at no charge. If submitting your registration by mail, write "N/C" in the fee area for your desired seminars.

STUDENT POSTER SESSION
Veterinary students present research and case studies in poster format on Sunday, March 10. The display begins Sunday at 12:00 noon in the Palm Event Center, with the poster authors available for discussion until 1:00 pm. The posters will be available for viewing until 5:00 pm, and again on Monday from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Zoetis and AASV provide a $250 stipend to each participating poster author. Additionally, posters #1 - #15 will be judged by a practitioner panel for the awarding of scholarships sponsored by Newport Laboratories.

STUDENT SEMINAR
Some say the best presentations of the meeting are made during the AASV Student Seminar on Sunday afternoon (March 10, 1:00 - 5:15 pm in Citron North). On the basis of submitted abstracts, 15 students have been selected to make presentations of research, case studies, and literature reviews. Zoetis sponsors this session and provides a $750 travel stipend to each student presenter. The students' oral and written presentations are judged, and a $5,000 scholarship, funded by Zoetis, is awarded to the top presentation. Elanco Animal Health provides $20,000 to fund 14 additional scholarships of varying amounts to the runners-up.

SPEED NETWORKING
This activity for 3rd and 4th-year students provides an opportunity to practice interview skills and learn about externships and job openings, while networking with swine veterinarians. The Speed Networking will take place Sunday, March 10 from 5:30-6:30 PM in Sabal F/G. Send an email to the AASV Student Delegate ([email protected]) to sign up to participate.

STUDENT RECEPTION
Don’t miss the Student Reception sponsored by Merck Animal Health on Sunday, March 10 from 8:30 - 11:00 pm in Citron North. You’ll find plenty of snacks & beverages along with truly magical entertainment. Turn in your Vet Hunt worksheet and hang around for the prize drawing. You'll want to make the most of this opportunity to interact with students, swine veterinarians, researchers, and industry representatives in an informal setting – who knows, you might line up your next externship or identify a potential job opportunity!

STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION
The announcement of the recipients of the AASV Foundation Veterinary Student Scholarships, funded by Zoetis and Elanco Animal Health, and the Student Poster Competition Scholarships, takes place during the AASV Luncheon at 12:15 PM on Monday, March 11 in the Sabal Ballroom. The recipients of the AASV Foundation - Merck Veterinary Student Scholarships are also announced at this time. Join the AASV in recognizing and congratulating all of these award recipients!