One of the things I look forward to every year here in College
Station, TX is Parents' Weekend! I'm an out of state student from
California, and so I don't get to see my family as often as I would
want to. Parents' Weekend is the one time during the year that my
family makes the trip out here to Texas, and it's always so much
fun!
As an added bonus this year all of us second year students got
our white coats! At our White Coat Ceremony (which is the day
before Parents' Day), all of the second year students were honored
by faculty, staff, fellow students, and our family and friends. We
got to walk across the stage and put on a bright new white coat as
a symbol of the fact that we have made it through our first two
years of veterinary school and into the clinical part of our
curriculum.
Getting our white coats was such a proud moment for all of us.
After all of the many long years of hard work, late night studying
and stress, we were finally able to put on our first official white
coat (and for me, the first one that's ever actually fit me!).
Plus, my family came out from California to be there and support
me, which meant more than anything. As a veterinary student, it is
so important to have a great support network around you to help you
through tough times. My family has been that for me, and having
them there to see me get my white coat made the moment special for
all of us!
The next day was the official Parents' Day at the vet school.
Parents, family, and friends were able to sign up to either attend
special lectures given by some of our awesome professors or get
tours of our hospital facilities. Since I'm a tour guide and my
family has already been given tours over the years, they elected to
sit in on the lectures. We had great lectures on surgery, exotic
animal medicine, and emergency and critical care medicine. It was
so much fun as a veterinary student to see our school through the
eyes of our families. Sometimes it's easy to forget how cool
everything is that we get to experience every day as students; days
like that really give you a whole new perspective!