Fitzpatrick celebrates receiving Orr Award Scholarship
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Media Contact: Taylor Bacon | Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator | 405-744-6728 | taylor.bacon@okstate.edu
August Fitzpatrick’s desire to be a veterinarian came from his grandfather, who had owned a practice on his Wisconsin farm.
Fitzpatrick followed in his grandfather’s footsteps, who graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1961, and came to Stillwater.
Fitzpatrick, a senior veterinary student at OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was awarded the Dean Harry W. Orr Memorial Award Scholarship for 2023.
The Orr Award Scholarship is for the top-ranking third-year veterinary student. Fitzpatrick said receiving this scholarship was an honor.
“In my class, there are so many incredible students and smart people,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a group that’s going to make pretty awesome veterinarians. To be given this award among that group is a humbling experience.”
Fitzpatrick’s first three years at OSU mainly consisted of classroom learning with a few labs sprinkled through. His last year, however, will let him go out to do his clinical rotations.
Currently, he’s focusing full time on school but has previously worked at a small animal clinic: SAHO Animal Hospital in Owasso, Oklahoma. He said he’s learning about himself, what life is like in the real world and trying to imagine becoming a vet in just a few more months.
“When he was finally accepted into veterinary school, I had never been more proud of an individual doing everything possible to make his dream come true,” said Dr. Bryan Spriggs, Fitzpatrick’s supervisor at SAHO. “He is very deserving of this award. He will be an exceptional veterinarian.”
As for his future dreams, Fitzpatrick wants to be the vet people go to for their dogs and cats. He’s interested in surgery and internal medicine but wants to apply those things in a smaller setting.
“In my class, there are so many incredible students and smart people. It’s a group that’s going to make pretty awesome veterinarians. To be given this award among that group is a humbling experience.”
“I want to be able to help everyday people with their questions, concerns and fears they have about their animal,” Fitzpatrick said. “I want to be able to put their mind at ease and treat a wide breadth of things. I want to be a jack of all trades in the small animal world.”
After graduating from Colorado State University with an undergraduate degree in zoology, Fitzpatrick met his now-wife, Angela Zanotti, who is from Oklahoma. He said it worked perfectly for him to move closer to her and come to OSU for his graduate degree. Now that he has the Orr Award, Fitzpatrick said the financial burden of college has lowered.
“To have people donate money to the vet school is truly a blessing because I think it helps us vet students more than they realize,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick dedicates his success to his family, friends and other vet students. He said they were all hugely supportive of him trying to get into vet school and even more so throughout his time at OSU.
“Studying can be a team sport sometimes to try and get through all these hard tests,” Fitzpatrick said. “So, you know, it’s never just a one-person thing. I’ve been thankful for all the people that have supported me. As I chase this dream, it’s been a long-time thing in the making.”
Photos By: Taylor Bacon
Story By: Mak Vandruff | Vet Cetera Magazine