A new scholarship will soon be available for veterinary students of Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM).
  Full-time students in CVM’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program will have the opportunity to receive a scholarship named the Dr. Elizabeth B. Ezelle and Mr. Robert L. Ezelle Endowed and Annual Scholarships. Recipients must keep a minimum 3.0 grade-point average (based on a 4.0 scale).
     The married couple who initiated the scholarship are both graduates of MSU who reside in Zachary, Louisiana.
   Robert Ezelle, previously an equipment engineer for ExxonMobil Global Services Corp, is a 2005 Millsaps graduate. In 2010, he completed mechanical engineering studies in the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.
   Elizabeth Ezelle, received an undergraduate degree in 2006 from Millsaps College and attended CVM at MSU from 2007 until 2011. Currently Ezelle practices in Zachary at Plains Veterinary Hospital. 
   The scholarships were created by the couple using the ExxonMobil Foundation matching gift program. 
  Elizabeth Ezelle said veterinary medicine started as a childhood dream.
    “Through high school and college, I just knew I would want to go into veterinary medicine,” Ezelle said. “Since I’ve graduated I’m still at the same job. It’s a mixed animal practice and I’ve been there for almost five years now.”
  Ezelle said she wanted the scholarship for compassionate students.
   “Grades matter a little bit but I really would like more emphasis put on bed side manner and their compassion than their GPA,” Ezelle said. 
   Ezelle told the main reasons she and her husband came up with the scholarship.
   “One, is to help out students with the scholarship part of it and two, the funds going to the vet school. I just really appreciate the Degree I got from there and what it’s done for me.”
   “My husband and I are big bulldog fans and if we were going to have the opportunity to send some money somewhere it was always Mississippi State,” Elizabeth Ezelle said. 
 Jimmy Kight, director of development for the College of Veterinary Medicine, said he was excited about the scholarship for a few reasons.
   “They’re a young couple that are giving that,” Kight said. “They’re in their early thirties, and they’re starting a family or have a family, but they also find it a priority to do two things. One, to make sure that other people have access to the scholarship dollars that are needed to attend the College of Veterinary Medicine, but then also they’re taking advantage of a matching gift program offered by ExxonMobil, which is a three-one matching gift program and it’s really wise if them to take advantage of that.”
  Kight also said the scholarship will first be awarded in the next month or so.
     Kent H. Hoblet, College of Veterinary Medicine professor, expressed via e-mail how important the scholarship is. 
  “The Ezelles’ gift speaks volume about what Dr. Ezelle’s time here at MSU-CVM meant to her. We are grateful for their generosity and know that their kindness will impact others in perpetuity – this gift will live on. We’ll see its impact as students are here able to expand on their studies and experiences and as they embark on their careers,” Hoblet said.