UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jacquelin Spring has been named the 2024 student marshal representing the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State’s spring commencement.
Student marshals are selected for their outstanding academic achievement and contributions to student life. Spring, of Doylestown, is a Schreyer Honors Scholar majoring in veterinary and biomedical sciences and minoring in psychology. She credits hard work and the support of excellent mentors for helping her reach her goals.
“Being selected as student marshal is an honor,” Spring said. “I’m proud of myself for working hard and believing that I can achieve whatever I put my mind to, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance of my mentors and their faith in me.”
She said her academic adviser, Robert Van Saun, professor of veterinary science, has guided her through veterinary school applications and class schedules and provided thesis advice. Her thesis adviser, Adrian Barragan, associate research professor, helped connect her with opportunities to learn about the dairy industry, academia and the veterinary field.
“Jackie represents our major and the college because, through her holistic, experiential approach to education, she gained not only the knowledge and skills needed to pursue her dream career of becoming a veterinarian but also gained an understanding of the role of the veterinarian in society and the agriculture industry,” Barragan said.
Spring added that all her professors at Penn State have been exceptional. She said their passion keeps students eager and equally passionate about learning.
“I would not be where I am today without the College of Ag Sciences,” she said. “The unique programs gave me and many other students incredible opportunities for hands-on involvement.”
Spring embraced undergraduate research during her four years at the University. She received a College of Agricultural Sciences Undergraduate Research Award grant and was a member of the Reproduction Research Team. She studied the effects of prepartum anti-inflammatory therapies in high-priority dairy cows, and her work has been published in the Journal of Dairy Science.
“We administered two different nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs two weeks before their expected calving date,” Spring said. “Then, we assessed the effects of this treatment on milk yield, rumination time, health events, and metabolic and inflammatory status after calving.”
Spring’s research enabled her to travel to Kansas City, Missouri, and Ottawa, Canada, to present her work at the American Dairy Science Association’s annual meetings in 2022 and 2023.
At the conferences, Spring presented her honors thesis research in the undergraduate original research division and competed against students from other universities, winning her division in both years. She noted that presenting to the industry was a great learning experience and a full-circle moment.
“More importantly, my work in the lab allowed me to be part of a team that taught me so much beyond research,” Spring said. “Our trips to the farm were fun, and I truly learned so much about the dairy industry and the veterinarian's role.”
Another aspect of her undergraduate years that Spring enjoyed was teaching. She was a learning assistant in the second-level introductory general chemistry course, a laboratory teaching assistant for the introductory animal science course, and a teaching assistant in the introductory animal science course.
“I love working with the students and teaching as a current student,” Spring said. “It takes the intimidation out of college-level courses to an extent. Working with other teaching assistants and professors has also been a great experience.”
Additionally, Spring received numerous scholarships and awards during her time at Penn State. She was named a winner of the President Sparks Award, the Evan Pugh Scholar Award and the Gamma Sigma Delta Agricultural Honor Society’s Outstanding Undergraduate Award.
After graduation, Spring will pursue a veterinary degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She received the school’s prestigious One Health scholarship, which covers the full cost of tuition for four years.
“At Penn, I’ll focus on food-animal production medicine and public health,” Spring said. “I plan to study dairy science. I find the dairy industry critical to supporting Pennsylvania's food security, and I think Pennsylvania’s dairy industry is unique compared to other states.”
Van Saun said Spring epitomizes taking advantage of the many opportunities to augment and expand one’s educational program at Penn State. “She represents the best of our students on many levels and has been richly rewarded for her efforts,” he said.
Looking back, Spring said putting herself out there and saying “yes” to new things led her to unimaginable opportunities.
“Since I’m from the suburbs of Philadelphia, I hadn’t been exposed to the dairy industry before college,” she said. “However, while conducting months of field research, I found a passion for the industry. The producers are incredibly hard-working and care deeply for their animals, and the cows work equally hard to provide us with food. This experience helped me decide that I wanted to support Pennsylvania’s dairy industry and public health from a veterinary perspective.”