By Dorian Martin

The e-mail from the dean sounded ominous: “Please come to my office Friday.”

The summoned students — Rebecca Buckley ’12, James Crenwelge ’12, Patricia Grana ’12 and Dr. Jacquelyn Wahl ’12 — spent that day in November 2008 wondering what to expect. “I was actually pretty nervous. All the worst thoughts passed through my mind,” Wahl said. The students’ emotions turned from concern to joy upon learning they would receive the Gene and Nancy Carter Scholarship.

The Carters’ annual gift of $40,000 to the Texas A&M Foundation is divided equally and awarded to four students in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences who have the greatest financial need. The scholarship stipulates that if Carter can make the same donation each year, these four students will continue to benefit from the scholarship during each year they’re in vet school.

For the Love of His Dog

Carter ’53 graduated from Texas A&M with an agriculture degree, but his dog Buddy was the catalyst for the scholarship’s creation. Carter took his dog, which suffered from diabetes and an autoimmune disorder, to Dr. Doug Bronstad ’72, who runs a clinic in Dallas. Together, the pair worked with Texas A&M’s vet school to successfully treat the dog. “Buddy just turned 15, and he should have died when he was 7,” said Carter, president of Western International. That awareness prompted him to endow the Carter/Bronstad Scholarship.

Soon thereafter, while attending the college’s annual scholarship event, Carter and his wife, Nancy, visited with some vet school students. “They were so impressed with the students and became concerned about the significant financial needs of at least a few of the students. The Carters told us they wanted to provide more assistance for these students and created the Gene and Nancy Carter Scholarship,” said Dr. Guy Sheppard, the Foundation’s director of development for the vet school. 

What Scholarships Mean

Vet school student Jacquelyn Wahl '12 says the Carters' scholarship is "awesome."

Crenwelge also expressed appreciation for the scholarship and plans one day to return the favor: “I hope that one day I can do the same thing and create a scholarship,” he said. “It’s a chance to give back.”

For more information about how you can support the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, contact: Bubba Woytek ’64, senior director of development and  director of external relations or Guy Sheppard, D.V.M., director of development and alumni relations at the Texas A&M Foundation (800) 392-3310 or b-woytek@tamu.edu and g-sheppard@tamu.edu.