Stephanie Wilkinson, 22, dreams of a career in medicine, but her future patients will be more likely to say neigh or woof, than ‘aah’.Miss Wilkinson aims to become a veterinarian specialising in horses.She is one of this year’s recipients of the prestigious Oil Group of Companies Scholarship. This $20,000 scholarship is awarded to two students every year.“I was very excited to receive the Oil Group Scholarship,” she said. “I had never applied to the scholarship before. They try to generate a lot of good publicity for you, which is nice.”This year she graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science Degree and will soon start pursuing her doctorate in veterinary medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, also in Guelph. Her childhood passion has been horses, and now she wants to dedicate her adult life to them also.“Becoming a veterinarian has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember,” she said. “However, last year I had the opportunity to work closely alongside a well-respected equine vet in Europe and the experience served to strengthen my determination to become a veterinarian. I received enthusiastic endorsement for my ability to observe and correctly diagnose the origin of lameness.“Also, it allowed me to travel and gain insight to the immense opportunities available with this profession. The profession most definitely offers many rewarding experiences and presents you with a different challenge everyday.”She has been riding since she was six-years-old, and her family always owned horses.“I just loved horses so much as a kid that I started taking riding lessons,” she said. “What I like about horses is that they are gentle and very kind. A lot of them have funny personalities. I enjoy riding them and competing. Jumping is my favourite sport.”She has represented Bermuda in riding locally and abroad in countries such as Columbia, Puerto Rico, Trinidad as well as the United States and Canada. She said she would like to see how far she can take riding, one day, but recently had to let up on it, to concentrate on her education.When she went to college, she left her horse, Esquire here in Bermuda, and she really missed being able to ride him everyday. Now that she is in veterinary school she is considering moving Esquire to Canada so she can ride him regularly again.“It will probably be difficult with vet school, but I have spoken to a few vet school students and they are able to ride at least three or four times a week,” she said. “It is just a good outlet to relieve stress.”While in high school at Warwick Academy, Miss Wilkinson volunteered at Windreach Recreational Village and at the Society for the Prevention of Animals (SPCA) and also with mentor charity YouthNet. In university she has continued her community service by volunteering with the Guelph Humane Society.“At the vet college they have what is called the Central Animal Facility where they keep a lot of homeless dogs,” she said. “They use them to show different areas of anatomy. They are not for dissection or anything like that. All of the dogs are up for adoption, so I volunteered with walking and socialising them.”After veterinary school, she hopes to get some good experience in veterinary medicine overseas and then eventually return to Bermuda and set up her own practice.Winston Godwin, a student at the University of Guelph, also received the Oil Group of Companies Scholarship. He is in his final year, studying environmental science.