Alternate Student Delegate Selected for AASV Board

December 3, 2014 — 

The AASV Student Recruitment Committee is pleased to announce the selection of Emily Mahan-Riggs (North Carolina State University, 2017) as the incoming Alternate Student Delegate to the AASV Board of Directors.

Riggs’ experience in swine medicine did not begin until the summer after her sophomore year of college. She was hired by Dr. Randall Prather at the University of Missouri to work with caesarian-derived, colostrum-deprived transgenic and wild type piglets that would be moved into the National Swine Resource and Research Center. She later created her own line of transgenic pigs to be used for human cardiovascular research. She also interned with Danbred North America (now DNA Genetics) to monitor the terminal traits of their maternal lines of pigs at one of their multiplier facilities. Prior to entering veterinary school, she worked with Dr. Dick Hesse at Kansas State University as well.

Riggs is active in the NCSU Student Chapter of the AASV, and has sought out many opportunities to meet and shadow swine veterinarians while on breaks. She recently completed a cooperative internship between Prestage Farms and the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine troubleshooting seasonal infertility.

After graduating from veterinary school, her main goal as a swine veterinarian will be to effectively care for the health and well-being of all ages of pigs while helping her clients achieve and maintain profitable farms. She also plans to complete the Executive Veterinary Program in Swine Health Management as well as become a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners certified in Swine Health Management.

Riggs will assume her duties as Alternate Student Delegate during the 2015 AASV Annual Meeting in Orlando. The current alternate delegate, Chris Sievers, will ascend to the delegate position. Chris and Emily will represent student interests within AASV as non-voting members of the Board of Directors and the Student Recruitment Committee.

Please join us in welcoming Emily to the AASV Board of Directors!