Well, here it is, the evening of May 5, 2013 and the class of 2014 has reached the end of classroom work and is about to enter the world of clinics.  Tomorrow morning at 8am a brand new set of 4th years will begin to care for patients, talk to clients, and take the last step to become great doctors.  This is the last that you readers will be hearing from me, as I am entering that new world with the rest of my classmates, and I will no longer be blogging and giving tours of the College.  It has been a fantastic two years of sharing my passion for veterinary medicine, and I thank all of you out there for your tolerance of my rants, and for your support for all of us students.  There have been so many adventures, highs and lows in the last three years, and it is my classmates who have always been there pulling me through.  2014 is a stellar class, a family in its own right.  We have finally made it, and I know our bonds ... (Read More)

Howdy Ags! Well, we are finally at the end of the semester! It seems like this semester flew by! I am so excited that I will finally be a senior and one step closer to going to veterinary school. For those of you who don't know: the vet school application will open May 1st. There will be a workshop to go over the application for vet school and there will be people at the workshop to answer any questions you may have regarding veterinary school. This will be held in Rudder Theater on May 2nd from 11:00 am-12:00 pm. To sign up for this workshop, you can visit the following website: http://academicevents.tamu.edu/opsa. For those of you who aren't quite ready to apply to vet school this time around, I recommend that you take time this summer to figure out what you need to work on to make yourself a well-rounded candidate. If you are lacking in animal experience, I highly recommend that you work on getting that during the summer. We all know how bus... (Read More)

I think the lyrics by Roger Creager say it best, "He's a Fightin' Texas Aggie and he will be 'til he's dead". For me, that sentence couldn't be truer. I have been an Aggie all my life, some might even say before I could talk. So, as you might imagine I adore Aggieland and yes, t-sips will forever be my mortal enemy. The campus is beautiful, the students and the rest of the surrounding community are the friendliest people I know, and we have one of the best veterinary programs in the country. I am blessed to be associated with such a wonderful institution and will forever be a Fightin' Texas Aggie. So, what is it about Texas A&M that makes it such a special place? Well, in my opinion, there are two answers to that question, family and tradition. As Aggies, we are all connected not only through our love for this university but through a symbol that is universally recognizable, the Aggie Ring. The day I received my Aggie Ring was without a dou... (Read More)

In two short weeks, I will have completed half of my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum and will be able to call myself a "3VM," or a third year veterinary student.  It is hard to believe all that has occurred in the last two years. We began by learning the very basics of veterinary medicine and have continued to advance our knowledge and skills as we begin to feel more competent to actually handle live animals, as opposed to the stuffed dogs we practice with in anesthesia lab.  We recently reached another milestone during a special ceremony when the Class of 2015 received our white coats, symbolizing the transition from the classroom to the clinics, where we will begin spending time during our third year. Family and friends gathered to celebrate our class and our achievements thus far, while looking forward to what is to come. While this transition into the clinics is certainly monumental, I have enjoyed reflecting back on the ... (Read More)

Howdy! I hope everyone had a wonderful Spring Break! I definitely did, and I know we are all dreading going back to school this week. But the good news is we only have 8 more weeks until summer break! I would also like to congratulate those that got into Veterinary school! Good Job! However, if you didn't get in this time, DON'T give up! Find out what you need to improve on, move forward, and STAY POSITIVE! Hopefully everyone is doing well in all of their classes. If you aren't, you still have time to improve! Visit one of my pervious blog entries titled, "Learning How to Study", for tips on how to improve your study habits and ultimately, improve your grades. But always remember to take time for yourself! Studying late at night or constantly studying without a break is no good and you will retain very little information. So find an activity that provides that stress release and mental break for you. As a college student, I know money can be ... (Read More)

Another Spring Break is completed, and for the third year vet students it is the last break our class will get until we graduate.  Sure, we have our intersemester period with a week off at Christmas time and some of the class will get spring break next year, but our whole class will not be getting a break together until graduation day.  It is amazing to think that we have come this far, in 7 short weeks we will begin our final step towards our license as 4th year begins.  We will be out of the classrooms and into the clinics, and I couldn't be more excited.  Our goals are within our reach, and we are about to be the big kids on campus.  I thought we would never make it this far, but here we are, ready and able!  I am excited for all of my classmates as the future really opens up for us in this next year.   It is an exciting time, a time of discovery and growth in our career.  This spring break was a gre... (Read More)

In veterinary school, there are many opportunities to participate in skills labs, attend conferences and lectures, and get involved in the field prior to graduating. Rather than have the mindset that all of my time should be spent studying, I believe I can supplement my classroom education with out-of-school events and should take advantage of opportunities available. I recently registered for the Student American Veterinary Medical Association Symposium that will be held at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  I have never attended a veterinary conference before, and after looking at the schedule I couldn't be more excited.  The lectures are scheduled from 8 AM until 5 PM each day, with a break at noon for participants to eat lunch and meet with exhibitors.  Lectures are presented over a variety of topics including large and small animal medicine, exotics, surgery, neurology, business... (Read More)

Another semester has started, and January has already flown by!  This week marks the start of our first round of tests of the spring semester, and, unfortunately, there are three of them!  We have Infectious Diseases on Monday, Pathology on Wednesday, and Anesthesia on Friday.  In addition, we also have a Pharmacology quiz on Tuesday.  Ah, the life of a veterinary student. However, it definitely has not been all work and no play.  January was an amazing month filled with traveling, new friendships, and surprises.  I received the opportunity to attend the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA) National Meeting that took place during the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) in Orlando, Florida a couple of weeks ago.  You know there are a lot of veterinarians in town when you see Heartgard, Previcox, and PureVax shuttle buses running around.  VBMA is a completely student-run organization, b... (Read More)

Hi y'all! Hope the holidays were just as a-mazing for you as they were for me! We had a whole four weeks off to spend with family, take a vacation, visit clinics, or do absolutely nothing for one last time. Since I'm a third year, I start my clinical rotations in May. Then after a year of acting like a real doctor, taking boards, and working really hard, I'm thrown into the real world to finally act like an adult! Forever! Sure, I guess we get a week off here and there (spring break, holiday intersession)-but, really, we're full time from now on. I was a little reluctant to come back to school with that thought in mind-but even though the thought of growing up is scary, it's also very exciting. As a third year, our semester is split into four "blocks." Though our core classes (like small animal medicine and radiology) remain constant throughout, we switch between clinics, skills, surgery, and various electives every four weeks. Thankfully, I ... (Read More)

Here we are, back in the swing of the semester, I can't believe we are already a quarter of the way into the semester.   For the class of 2014 we are suddenly faced with the reality that our clinical year is actually out there and approaching fast!   I can't believe that we are already in our third year, it feels like just yesterday we were sitting in orientation, frightened first years, thinking we would never reach fourth year, or even third year, but here we are!    Between elective schedules, organizations, and balancing life outside of vet school, it can get pretty stressful and overwhelming, but I ask that everyone remember why we started this.  This is a dream for us all, a calling since we were young to be veterinarians.  Let us never forget that dream, I know I feel so lucky to be here at this fabulous school!  As fourth year approaches we face the prospect of change, no longer will we be ... (Read More)