I want to be a large animal veterinarian, specializing in bovine medicine, and I intend to complete research on ruminant gastroenterology and nutrition.

Veterinary medicine has been a lifelong passion of mine. Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, being a vet was synonymous with small animal veterinarian. It wasn’t until my first summer at Pre-Vet Camp at UW-Platteville in Wisconsin that I learned of the fascinating world of large animal medicine. There, I had my first hands-on experience with farm animals, including vaccinating and castrating piglets, taking cows’ temperatures, and watching a displaced abomasum surgery not 5 feet in front of me. I was so intrigued and inspired by this entirely new world of animal medicine that I decided it was the career for me.

Since then, I have completely dedicated myself to making this dream a reality. In order to introduce myself to the rigorous curriculum of an animal sciences/pre-vet major, I have taken a total of seven AP classes and focused my schedule heavily on STEM classes. Outside of school, I am the Team Co-Captain and Biology Captain of our Science Team. Being a leader on the team helps me hone my people skills, which are very important in veterinary medicine; after all, our patients can’t talk, but their owners can! I have also spent several hours shadowing my local veterinarian. For me, this is a great way to see behind-the-scenes at a practice and what is expected of a domestic animal vet, should I decide to enter mixed practice.

This last summer, I made the greatest step towards pre-vet education of my entire life: summer school at America’s best veterinary college. I spent 3 weeks at Cornell University, taking the class Veterinary Medicine: Small Animal Practice (VTBMS 1200). Our class consisted of both lecture, where we were introduced to basic anatomy and pathology, and lab, where we completed dissections, solved real case studies, and practiced physical exams on our favorite beagle, Wally. However, I learned much more than what the course was designed to teach; as this was my first time away from home for longer than a week, I learned to manage my time as an independent adult, to balance studying and relaxing. I met friends from all over the world that I still keep in contact with. Three weeks later, I left campus with an A+, several great new friends, and an even deeper desire to pursue veterinary medicine.

Of course, with all this experience, I am certain that I will succeed in my pre-vet undergraduate education and subsequent vet school studies. When I say that being a veterinarian has been my lifelong passion, I mean it in the truest sense of the words. With each experience, be it Pre-Vet Camp, shadowing, or going to Cornell, my future of saving animals is again cemented. I look forward to the day that this is no longer a future, but a reality.