Priya, a first-year veterinary student, has found that a strong community is an important foundation for transitioning into vet school.
When beginning her first year of vet school, Priya was excited yet nervous for the unknown she was facing. But she soon found a community of friends, faculty, and staff at the college who encouraged her every step of the way — both inside and outside the classroom.
“The wisdom of others is invaluable,” Priya said. “I encourage anyone who has a dream to reach out to people who have gone before them and to soak in their advice.
“These are people I know that I’ll be in touch with after we graduate, and that is something I’ll be grateful for forever.”
For Adrienne, a biomedical sciences major and VMBS ambassador, vacationing with her friends in Colorado was the perfect way to relax after several weeks focused on dental school applications.
Adrienne enjoyed decompressing in Colorado by hiking, white water rafting, horseback riding, and visiting a mountaintop amusement park.
Agnes, a junior biomedical sciences major and VMBS ambassador, had the unique opportunity to learn about cheetah conservation while volunteering on a reserve in South Africa.
On the reserve, Agnes spent her days tending to cheetahs, lions, servals, and meerkats. When not on the reserve, the team visited national parks where they observed more wildlife.
“This opportunity really helped me understand the importance of conservation and how it is done in an ethical manner,” Agnes said. “I am extremely thankful to have been a part of such a large project to help rescue, rehabilitate, and repopulate the cheetah population in South Africa.”
Kara, a sophomore animal science major and VMBS ambassador, visited the Texas Panhandle to study and learn about the dairy industry, giving her a solid foundation in her pursuit to begin a career in large animal medicine.
“I loved having the opportunity to learn under a variety of different professors from all around the U.S. who specialize in different areas of dairy herd management and medicine,” Kara said. “It truly was a one-of-a-kind experience to observe such a vital industry in our day-to-day lives.”
Reagan, a second-year veterinary student, learned the importance of veterinary role models at a young age. Oakridge Equine Hospital had been treating her horses for more than 15 years, and when she reached out to the veterinarians for mentorship and guidance, several also began mentoring her as she began working toward her veterinary dreams.
She is especially grateful for Dr. Jason Throne, whom she shadowed for more than 250 hours, and Dr. Lauren Lamb ‘07, who shared his experience attending veterinary school at the VMBS.
“If you’re interested in vet school and don’t have a veterinary mentor, start by asking local vet clinics if they allow shadowing, or possibly work as a veterinary assistant or technician at clinics,” Reagan said. “One of the best ways to learn about veterinary medicine is to get involved in a veterinary practice.”
“Wild horses at the Rachel Carson Reserve in North Carolina, where I went on vacation for my last summer.”
Transitioning from second to third year of veterinary school is a huge milestone because it means you are halfway to getting your DVM! It’s also the point when students choose a track that best matches their career goals.
“I chose to follow the small animal track, which means I take electives that will help prepare me for life as a small animal general practitioner,” said third-year veterinary student Hannah J. “These electives are designed to strengthen our abilities to write medical records, assess a patient based on their history and physical exam, and workup a plan for diagnostics and treatments. They also explore the different specialties available to pursue as a residency, such as ophthalmology, diagnostic imaging, and surgery.
“Going into third year also means I just had my ‘last’ summer of vet school,” she said. “In between third and fourth year, veterinary students go straight into clinical rotations at the small and large animal hospitals. During my last summer, I made sure to gain lots of hands-on experience at externships while still taking a well-earned break by going on vacation to the North Carolina coast.”
“My group of friends and I taking group and celebratory photos in front of the vet school after finishing our second year. We were all so excited to have reached the halfway mark! My group of friends is a mixed bag as far as our planned career paths in veterinary medicine go. Some of my friends are tracking small animal like me, while others are tracking mixed animal, or equine-only focus.”
“Photo of an abdominal ultrasound of a cat, evaluating the small intestines. This was a case I saw over the summer while on an externship. We just learned about GI tract evaluation using ultrasound in our diagnostic imaging class in third year.”
“Photo of a thoracic radiograph of a dog, evaluating the lungs. This was a case I saw over the summer while on an externship. We started off the semester learning about lung patterns in our diagnostic imaging class in third year. It was fun to get to pull up examples of radiographs I had seen over the summer to incorporate into my educational experience in class.”
Abbie M. and fellow third-year veterinary students learned about repairing turtle shells and practiced techniques on donated empty shells in a recent class activity (see the before and after photos!).
“Wildlife veterinarians often receive turtles in need of shell repairs. After a turtle suffers trauma, such as being hit by a car, a veterinarian can use a variety of repair styles to assist in healing,” Abbie said. “During the Zoo, Exotics, and Wildlife Techniques elective in third year, veterinary students have the opportunity to practice these repairs on turtle shells.
“Pictured here you can see screws and cerclage wire, hook and eye closures, zip ties, and even gel nails,” she said. “Each repair type has its own advantages and uses, so its important to know how to use what you have!”
As part of the Veterinary Medical Scientist Research Training Program (VMSRTP), second-year veterinary student Gabriela spent 10 weeks conducting research with Dr. Vanna Dickerson on how applying ice packs affects blood flow to the skin.
At the end of the summer, she presented her project at the 2024 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was able to network with veterinary students from across the country with similar research interests.
As Maria, a junior biomedical sciences major and VMBS ambassador, explored her home country of Venezuela during a recent vacation, she became all the more excited about her future in veterinary medicine.
“The first destination was Canaima in the Amazon rainforest,” Maria said. “We stayed in a lodge that was an animal sanctuary and rehabilitation center for the animals in the rainforest. I got to interact with monkeys, tapirs, parrots, and a special little green macaw called Olive that would always love to be carried and cuddled!
“Then, I got to travel to an archipelago called Los Roques,” she said. “In one of the islands, they had a rehabilitation project for sea turtles. I learned how the island is the mating place for 3 species and how the volunteers protect their nests. When the eggs hatch a couple of months later, they bring them into the center and care for the younglings until they are ready to be liberated into the ocean. This project was amazing since they are helping species that are in risk of extinction!”
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!
