HumaneVMA Awards 2025 Compassionate Care Scholarships

for Veterinary Technician Students

October 22, 2025

By Heather Schrader, MCJ, RVT, CVA

HumaneVMA is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Compassionate Care Scholarships for Veterinary Technician Students!  Two $5,000 scholarships were awarded to veterinary technician students at the end of National Veterinary Technician Week, October 12-18.  We are excited to share these students' achievements and recognize their work in their communities.

HumaneVMA’s mission is to use its expertise and resources to advance animal welfare via leadership, advocacy, education and service in the veterinary field. We recognize that we cannot advance animal welfare without deliberate and conscious attempts to include more people and more perspectives. These scholarships honor students who exhibit a profound commitment to animal welfare and demonstrate dedication to expanding equitable access and inclusion within veterinary medicine. The awardees contribute to our initiative to create a more sustainable, humane world for all animals from within the veterinary field.  

2025 Compassionate Care Scholarship Recipients

Jamie Johnson, Penn Foster College

Jude Modeste, Penn Foster College

Jamie resides in Alabama and works full time as a Veterinary Assistant in the Shelter Medicine Service at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine's Hoerlein Spay/Neuter Program.  By providing surgical services and preventative care to adoptable animals in partnering shelters, the program also helps students get hands-on training with shelter medicine procedure and protocols.  Jamie also works weekend shifts at VEG ER for Pets where she gains invaluable knowledge of emergency nursing skills and critical care.  Dr. Brendan Bergquist, Assistant Clinical Professor of Shelter Medicine at Auburn University CVM, says "Not only does Jamie strive to provide the best care for the animals coming through our program, but she is also deeply involved in the training of 4th-year veterinary students, which at times can be a significant undertaking."  

In addition to her clinical work, Jamie has also volunteered with the ASPCA's National Field Response Team and Veterinary Engagement Team.  Through this work, she has assisted with deployments and provided medical care to animals rescued from crisis situations and advocated for policy initiatives that advance animal welfare legislation.  Jamie also fosters though CARE Humane Society in Auburn and volunteers with the People and Pets Project, which provides One Health clinical services for pets and their people.  She looks forward to obtaining her Veterinary Technician Specialty (VTS) in Shelter Medicine once this is established and starting a Street Dog Coalition team in her community.  

Mr. Modeste resides on the island of Grenada in the West Indies.  He works full time as a Clinical Veterinary Technician in the Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Department for the Junior Surgery and Anesthesia Lab at St. George's University School of Veterinary Medicine.  The lab functions as an outreach clinic providing much needed services to animals in the Grenadian community such as free spay/neuter, vaccinations and other preventative veterinary care.  In this role, Jude also provides invaluable support to staff and veterinary students rotating through this lab as part of the Shelter Medicine Selective.  Elizabeth Peach, CVT/LVT Demonstrator in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Department and co-course director for the Shelter Medicine Selective, states "Mr. Modeste is a genuinely dedicated, hard-working, focused individual, who cares about his community, the animals he works with, and the students he teaches each day."  

In addition to his work with the veterinary school, Jude also supports the community through his volunteer work with the Grenada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) where he assists with routine care and welfare of the animals at the shelter, adoptions and community education.  He also volunteers his time with the Ministry of Agriculture, helping with vaccination clinics for livestock and supporting programs that educate farmers on husbandry and biosecurity protocols on Grenada.  As a member of St. George's University's One Health, One Medicine Student Organization, Spay Neuter Pothounds (SNP), Jude helps promote responsible pet ownership and population control of the island's dogs.  ('Pothound' is a commonly used Caribbean term for a mixed-breed dog usually living on the street and fed by community members.)  The organization is comprised of veterinary and medical students who raise public awareness about animal welfare and zoonotic disease prevention.  

The HumaneVMA Compassionate Care Scholarships application will be available next year. Contact vet[email protected] with any questions about the program.

Read about the recipients of our inaugural Compassionate Care Scholarships for Veterinary Technician Students here!