Developing A Passion For All Animals
By Matthew ’26, B.S. in Animal Science
One of the great things about being an Ambassador in the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) with undergraduate, graduate, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students is that, like the school itself, the Ambassador Program attracts students from a variety of backgrounds and with many different interests.
Some Ambassadors come from a rural background and others come from a city, including myself; some share my major of animal science and have spent their whole lives participating in livestock shows, while others had no large animal experience before coming to Texas A&M.
I am one of those people who had no prior large animal experience before coming to Texas A&M. I grew up in Dallas and have lived in the city my whole life. My love for animals developed at a young age from all of the pets my sister and I had over the years — we had two hamsters, two lizards, two guinea pigs, and four dogs. Over the years, our house began to look like a zoo!
Some of my favorite memories from childhood also occurred at our local pet store, Petland. The interactions with the animals there sparked my love for animals. Even though I went to Animal Science 107, which is the first animal science course you will take at Texas A&M, with little knowledge of large animals, I made up for it. I studied and worked hard to earn an A in the class.
My undergraduate experience also has been filled with great relationships with fellow pre-vet students and with faculty, which I’ve developed by demonstrating a hard work ethic in each class. I have met some great people in animal science by participating in internships, such as at the Houston Livestock Show and by joining organizations such as the Pre-Vet Society, and by becoming a VMBS Ambassador.
Becoming an Ambassador has provided me with great advice from current veterinary students, leadership opportunities, and the chance to meet VMBS faculty. It has also allowed me to work with wonderful people and gifted me with a support system. Everyone on the team is kind, caring, and wants you to succeed in life. My undergraduate experience would not be what it is without making that decision to apply to become an Ambassador.