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Living a Double Life

Four young people laying in grass studying

A blog by Daisy, senior biology major

My experience as a college student is unique to some! I am an undergraduate student, an ambassador of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and I have the opportunity to serve in the United States Army Reserves. These photos show snippets of my years of experience thus far as a reserve soldier, which allows me to also attend Texas A&M as a full-time student. My dream is to attend veterinary school at the VMBS and serve in the Army Veterinary Corps to care for service dogs, horses, and on-base family pets!

These pictures show a variety of places, including Camp Bullis, Fort Cavasos, and Fort Hunter Ligett, California, where I got to ride on a black hawk and watch early morning sunrises on our camp setup. The tent picture is a 6 a.m. sunrise in California before we packed up to “jump” (Army term for “move quickly”) to our actual training site.

As a student, I am a major coffee lover! The bag of coffee pictured is commonly seen for soldiers in the field looking for a caffine kick! The bag, along with a packet of instant coffee and creamer, frequently comes in our packaged meals called MRE’s.

Drill weeks often run into my exams, which Texas A&M always helps me rearrange so that I can fufill my duty! Some of these pictures show me studying as we wait for certain training events so I do not fall behind on my classwork.

I often think about how lucky I am to serve in the Army and have these life experiences. No school understands the needs of student soldiers quite like Texas A&M!

Daisy and an Army friend with black hawk helicoptors in the background
Daisy and her Army friends
Hand holding a bad of liquid coffee
Daisy on a bus seat studying
A bunch of tents in a field with the setting sun in the background

Serving as a Veterinarian

At the end of my first year of Vet school, I am that much closer to reaching my career goals. This semester marks a huge milestone for me, for more reasons than one. Obviously, this serves as the quarter mark in my time as a vet student, but with the end of this year also comes the increased confidence in both my ability to survive vet school and the reassurance that I am where I am meant to be.

This semester also marks the end of anatomy courses. While these classes have been fun, extremely educational, and are taught by some of the smartest professors I’ve ever had the privilege to learn from, they have certainly been my greatest challenge during my brief time here.

Aside from these highlights, the end of this semester provides another huge milestone for me. I have recently had the honor of being accepted into the Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program, and with the ending of this semester, I will now be signing my contract and will officially be commissioned as an officer in the United States Army.

Much like my application process to get into vet school, the application process for this scholarship program was a very long and difficult process. It included physical and educational requirements that I needed to meet, as well as personal and professional references. All of this was then followed by an extensive background check and interviews, in which I had to answer for everything down to traffic tickets I received in high school! The selection process was a grueling one, but this makes my acceptance into the program that much more rewarding.

Growing up in a military family as the son of a Marine, a career in the military was always an intriguing one that seemed to call to me. This route will allow me to fulfill this dream of serving in the military and following in my father’s footsteps while incorporating my passion for animal health and biomedical research. I’m excited to embark on this new chapter and look forward to the new experiences, challenges, and opportunities that this journey will provide. Having fully paid tuition, a monthly stipend, and full benefits starting in the fall is also a perk I’m definitely looking forward to.