Mann, Lori S

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ScholarlyCommons@Penn

Bellwether MagazineVolume 1Number 56 Spring 2003 Article 294-1-2003Opportunity Scholarship Donor Profile: James S.Harper III, V’72Lori S. MannUniversity of PennsylvaniaThis paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/bellwether/vol1/iss56/29For more information, please contact libraryrepository@pobox.upenn.edu.22 B E L L W E T H E R  5 6(Editor’s Note: Nathan D. Harvey, V’03 is the recipientof the Anniscole Opportunity Scholarship given by Benson B.Martin, V’80. Following are his comments at the 2002 RushShippen Huidekoper Dinner last November.)My name is Nate Harvey. I am a fourth year foodanimal major from Newfield, Maine. Having grownup near my grandfather’s small dairy farm in south-ern New Hampshire, I’ve always had a particularinterest in dairy cows. Since I was a little kid, it hasbeen my dream to attend veterinary school andreturn to New England to practice dairy medicine.I’m interested in cows from a production stand-point, from a medical and surgical standpoint, andequally as important, from an animal welfare andanimal comfort point of view. It is important for usto realize that our animal production systems arebecoming more intensified to meet the growing fooddemands of our growing population. However, italso is important that we continue to maintain ade-quate standards for animal comfort as this happens.One of the many valuable lessons I’ve learned on mygrandfather’s farm is that “happy cows make moremilk,” and it is true for any animal production sys-tem – comfortable, healthy animals equal better pro-duction.I am glad to have maintained the importantsmaller-farm lessons and values that I learned grow-ing up, and I look forward to combining them withthe important concepts of progressive productionmedicine that I’m learning here at Penn. Too often,people consider these two lines of thought (i.e. smallfarm values vs. large farm production) to be in strictconflict with each other, when actually they bothplay important roles together in successful produc-tion medicine.This brings me to what I really want to empha-size tonight. While I am fortunate enough to finallybe achieving my goals of pursuing dairy medicine,I could never have made it this far without theunending support of the alumni from Penn’s VetSchool. I am particularly grateful for the generosityof Dr. Ben Martin, V’80, my Opportunity Schol-arship sponsor. I can honestly say that I would notbe standing here at this great School, if not for hisselflessness, as well as that of the many alumni herethat contribute to relieve students’ educationalexpenses. To all the alumni here tonight who donateyour time, your mentorship, and your hard-earnedmoney to the students of this School, I would like toremind you that your giving is tremendously appre-ciated by the students. Your generosity is not takenlightly, and inmany cases(such as myown) it canmake all thedifferencebetween a stu-dent not realiz-ing his/hergoals, and astudent goingall the way. If I could possibly emphasize thisenough, I would say it a thousand times… thankyou, thank you, thank you.In conclusion, needless to say, the Huidekoperdinner has become a special annual landmark forme. Each fall I have looked forward to meeting thealumni, enjoying the guest speakers, and cheering onthe new first-year Opportunity Scholars. However,my anticipation for this year’s dinner was bittersweetat first, as I realized with disappointment that itwould be my fourth and final Huidekoper dinner.Then I quickly realized that, on the contrary, this isnot to be my final dinner at all. I will be comingback to enjoy Huidekoper dinners in the future, as ascholarship donor rather than a recipient. If I canmake half the difference in my recipient’s life that mydonor and all of you have made in mine, it will beworth it many times over.Thank you.Nathan D.Harvey,V’03According to Dr. Harper, it was a natural deci-sion for him to fund an Opportunity Scholarship ashe enjoys giving back what he had received. He alsois cognizant of the high debt incurred by studentstoday and how it can impact their career choices. Dr.Harper’s motivation to give back is also inspired bythose who motivated him as a student, includingCharles W. Raker, V’42 (current chair of the OSPcommittee), Wilbur B. Amand, V’66, Paul Berg,V’62, William B. Boucher, V’40, WilliamDonawick, Alan M. Klide, V’65, WilliamMoyer, and Lawrence R. Soma, V’57.Editor’s Note: Established in 1998, the OpportunityScholarship Program provides a $10,000 award ($2,500 foreach of four years) to a qualified student with demonstratedneed while teaming the student with the donor or group ofdonors in a mentoring process. The program currently sup-ports 40 students. For information on how you can supportthe future of veterinary medicine through this program,please contact Dori Myers at the School at 215.746.7438 orvia e-mail at dmyers@vet.upenn.edu.by Lori Spencer Mann, V’95On any given day, you might find James S.Harper III, V’72, director of animal care at BrownUniversity in Providence, R.I., where he has workedsince 1985, engaging in a myriad of administrativeduties, providing clinical support to the lab animaldepartment that he over-sees, or advising hisundergraduate studentsand mentoring those whomight have an interest inattending veterinaryschool. He is responsiblefor more than one Brownundergraduate attendingvet school at Penn. Dr.Harper’s day might also include participating in aresearch project, teaching his experimental surgeryclass, or devising a novel anesthetic technique onsome exotic or lab animal species.On that same day, you also might find him offer-ing fatherly advice to one of his four children (hisoldest son is a freshman at Brown), taking a callfrom the Rhode Island 1 Disaster Medical AssistanceTeam (RI-1 DMAT), of which he is a member, com-municating with his colleagues in the American Col-lege of Laboratory Animal Medicine, squeezing inhis volunteer paramedic/firefighter duties with thefire department in his hometown of Sterling Mass.,or planning a night out with his wife, Robin, toattend the ballet.From Dr. Harper’s humble beginnings tobecoming the first child in his family to graduatefrom college, through his years at Penn State andearly entry into Penn Veterinary Medicine, and fromhis service in the Army to time spent in CentralAmerica, a NIH fellowship, and working at Brown,he amassed a diverse portfolio of service and experi-ence. In fact, the Governor of Rhode Island recog-nized the entire team, including Dr. Harper, for theirwork with RI-1 DMAT at Ground Zero. During a12-day period, he was able to use his emergencymedical skills to help the many other rescue person-nel [human and canine] on duty.Dr. Harper is proud of Penn and stronglybelieves in the value of the education he received. Hecontinues to be deeply motivated and inspired by hisstudents at Brown and those he has mentored atPenn through the Opportunity Scholarship Program(OSP). Established in 1998, the Program is designedto foster scholarship support, provide mentoringopportunities for students and offer alumni aunique opportunity to establish a meaningful con-nection with future colleagues.Opportunity Scholarship Donor Profile: James S.Harper III,V’72O P P O R T U N I T Y  S C H O L A R S H I P  P R O G R A M

Opportunity Scholarship Donor Profile: James S. Harper III, V’72

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Opportunity Scholarship Donor Profile: James S. Harper III, V’72

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