Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Every year at our Evening of Gratitude, something special happens.
A student sits down across from the person who helped make their education possible—and their stories unfold.
In today’s A Minute with Mark, you’ll meet Noah McNaughton, a student from Bakersfield who overcame significant obstacles to get to veterinary school. Thanks to the Dr. Pauline Mysliwiec Scholarship, he’s been able to stay on that path.
At the event, Noah met Dr. John Yao, representing the scholarship—and then one of his most important mentors, alumnus Dr. Thomas Willis, surprised him by coming unannounced.
It’s one of those moments you don’t forget.
You’ll also meet this year’s Change Maker Award recipient, alumnus Dr. Tom Campi, whose years of generosity and guidance have helped shape the future of our school.
We believe we have the largest scholarship endowment in veterinary medicine. Because of that support, our students graduate with roughly half the debt of the national average.
But numbers only tell part of the story.
Because of your support, 80% of UCDavis veterinary students receive scholarships and have roughly half the debt when they graduate compared to other veterinary students. The financial burden of professional school is real, but with this level of financial support, our graduates have much more freedom to follow their career dreams.
The rest—you’ll see here.
Noah is one unique story, but we have over 600 individual student stories that are just waiting to be told.
Thank you for making moments like this possible.
Every year at our Evening of Gratitude, something special happens.
A student sits down across from the person who helped make their education possible—and their stories unfold.
In today’s A Minute with Mark, you’ll meet Noah McNaughton, a student from Bakersfield who overcame significant obstacles to get to veterinary school. Thanks to the Dr. Pauline Mysliwiec Scholarship, he’s been able to stay on that path.
At the event, Noah met Dr. John Yao, representing the scholarship—and then one of his most important mentors, alumnus Dr. Thomas Willis, surprised him by coming unannounced.
It’s one of those moments you don’t forget.
You’ll also meet this year’s Change Maker Award recipient, alumnus Dr. Tom Campi, whose years of generosity and guidance have helped shape the future of our school.
We believe we have the largest scholarship endowment in veterinary medicine. Because of that support, our students graduate with roughly half the debt of the national average.
But numbers only tell part of the story.
Because of your support, 80% of UCDavis veterinary students receive scholarships and have roughly half the debt when they graduate compared to other veterinary students. The financial burden of professional school is real, but with this level of financial support, our graduates have much more freedom to follow their career dreams.
The rest—you’ll see here.
Noah is one unique story, but we have over 600 individual student stories that are just waiting to be told.
Thank you for making moments like this possible.
