Former Utah student’s love of alpacas earns him inaugural scholarship

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — A former Utah State University student received an inaugural scholarship from the National Alpaca Foundation — which was awarded to him based on his love for alpacas.

Nick Morrow, of Lehi, Utah, received the inaugural Dawn Stewart Memorial Scholarship , which is awarded to veterinary students in the second, third, or fourth year of their programs who show their interest in camelid animal medicine.

Morrow first grew to love alpacas in 2014 when he was looking after a small herd of Huacaya alpacas at a local farm. He said that experience helped him learn from the farm owner and the animals.

“Perhaps the best way I learned about them was by sitting down in their pen and just observing their behaviors,” Morrow said.

After that, Morrow traveled around the country with his mobile animal care and training business to teach about alpaca behavior, hold training seminars, and do private alpaca training sessions. He teamed up with an alpaca veterinarian from Park City, Utah, and is expecting to join her practice upon completing veterinary school.

Morrow said he has been tracking hundreds of camels in the country over the past five years, and he has been performing and analyzing fecal tests under the direction of the Park City veterinarian.

“My passion for large animal medicine has also led to me creating the world’s largest camel gastrointestinal parasite database,” Morrow said.

He said he hopes those findings can also benefit the alpaca industry, and will be starting at Washington State University in the fall.

Morrow earned $3,000 through the scholarship. The Dawn Stewart Memorial Scholarship is awarded to support the education of students at U.S.-based institutions that offer classes supporting alpaca health or a camelid (alpaca) program.

Learn more about the other scholarship recipients here .

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