A Lebanon native has been named the Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.
Dr. Dylan Lape, of Greenfield, Indiana, received the award during the 55th annual meeting of the AASV, which was held Feb. 24-27 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The award is given each year to AASV members who are recent graduates of a veterinary school and who demonstrate the ideals of exemplary service and proficiency early in their careers.
Lape, who grew up in Lebanon where he raised exhibition poultry along with his brother and father, earned a bachelor of science degree in 2014 from Penn State University, where he developed an interest in swine at the Penn State swine farm. He then enrolled in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine and received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree in 2018.
Read More: How this father-son duo prepared for the Farm Show’s poultry competition
He joined Pork Veterinary Solutions in July 2018, working with independent swine producers, contract growers, and large integrators, overseeing the production of approximately 1 million pigs per year. Lape also has participated in multiple foreign animal disease planning and preparedness exercises and has completed the Swine Veterinarians Public Policy Advocacy Program through the National Pork Producers Council and AASV.
All of the many nominations Lape received for this award described his infectiously positive personality as an ideal of exemplary service, according to a release from Purdue Veterinary Medicine News. “Even in challenging, difficult, or stressful situations,” the release says, “Dr. Lape is known for continuously choosing to be happy, enabling him to consistently be a valuable team member and a joy to colleagues and clients.”
During his acceptance, Lape said he is “shocked and honored to be selected for this award! I 100% wouldn’t be the veterinarian I am today without the mentorship I’ve received from many members of AASV, but especially my boss, Dr. Matt Ackerman!”
Lape still raises exhibition poultry and enjoys showing across the Midwest in his spare time.
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