As a third year veterinary student, I’ve spent my fair share of time in the classroom, going to school day in and day out. Something about this year feels different. After 19 straight years of school, and even a few summers filled with school, it doesn’t feel like I’m just going to school anymore. I’ve never been one for long lectures or sitting down all day, which is why third year of veterinary school has changed the definition I had of school. This year we get to do so much more than just sit in the classroom, listen to lectures, and take tests. We start the hands-on aspect of our journey to becoming veterinarians. Our curriculum is set up to allow us to pick elective classes that are tailored toward what aspect of veterinarian medicine we want to practice someday. These electives take school from an average, everyday, sit-and-listen experience to an out-of-the-classroom, clinical experience. This is what most of us, as vet students, have been waiting for our whole life—a chance to put our hands on a live animal and remember the reason why we started this journey long before we ever applied to veterinary school. For example, I was recently called in at midnight to come in and watch our amazing veterinarians here at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences treat a sick animal. How many people get to say they get called in the middle of the night to save lives? I am starting to finally reap the benefits from all those hours spent in the classrooms and labs. As my journey through school gets closer and closer to the end, I’m starting to realize that school’s not school anymore. It’s my future.
