Friedel Ward Receives Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree
Makayla Friedel Ward, daughter of Neal and Charlene Friedel of Golden Eagle, Illinois, graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in May 2026. The college is one of only 35 accredited veterinary schools in the United States.
Dr. Friedel Ward and her fellow graduates in the Class of 2026 were educated under an innovative veterinary curriculum pioneered at Illinois. The Illinois curriculum focuses on integrating the clinical skills and basic sciences relevant to veterinary practice throughout the four-year doctoral degree program. Students in the Illinois program, unlike those in other veterinary curricula, spend 15 weeks during the first two years of study embedded in veterinary practice areas and practicing clinical skills in an extensive learning center equipped with models and simulations.
Dr. Friedel Ward graduated from Brussels High School in Brussels, Illinois, in 2016. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology in 2020.
Dr. Friedel Ward has accepted a position as an associate veterinarian at Elm Point Animal Hospital in St. Charles, Missouri, with future plans to start a traveling large animal clinic in the St. Louis area, servicing both Illinois and Missouri.
Dr. Friedel Ward is married to David Ward of Springfield, Illinois.
The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 35 veterinary schools in the United States. It pioneered an innovative veterinary curriculum that focuses on integrating the clinical skills and basic sciences relevant to veterinary practice throughout the four-year doctoral degree program. Students in the Illinois program, unlike those in other veterinary curricula, spend 15 weeks during the first two years of study embedded in veterinary practice areas and practicing clinical skills in an extensive learning center equipped with models and simulations.
