Month: May 2018

End of Year 2 Review and Vision Statement

In no time at all, my second year of college came to a close. The first semester of this school year did not go as well as I’d hoped, and there are some reasons for that. I started a new job at Perimeter Veterinary Hospital that took at least 20 minutes to drive to and the workday could get pretty long. The stresses of working while also managing 17 credit hours was tough and left me with minimal time to also take care of myself mentally. After Christmas Break, I changed how I scheduled my days and how I managed my time, and did much better academically during the second semester.

Regarding my career goals, I think I took the right steps this year to further my progress in reaching them. While my job as a Veterinary Assistant took some getting used to, I definitely learned so much about small animal medicine that I would be able to apply in veterinary school and when I have my own practice. In addition to working, I started volunteering at the Ohio Wildlife Center a few weeks ago as an Animal Care intern in order to learn more about wildlife medicine and rehabilitation.

For my junior year, I’m going to focus heavily on my grades and bring up my GPA. While I have many hours of animal and veterinary experience, I want to be competitive academically as well. I may also try getting a volunteer position at Waterman Dairy Farm on campus to get more large animal experience, or volunteer at the Ohio Rabbit Rescue to socialize and care for neglected rabbits. Any volunteer positions and experiences such as these will come second to my academics. Next summer, I may have to take classes to make sure I have the prerequisites completed for my vet school application. I will also take the GRE at this time. I plan on applying to a few schools at the start of my senior year.

My Career Goals

I have loved animals all my life. Growing up, I was always intrigued by the way people lived their lives, intertwined with those of animals, and I loved being able to witness the love and compassion people and animals showed toward each other. To see people treating animals not just as pets, but as members of the family really struck a chord in my heart. This absolutely beautiful relationship between man and animal really sparked my curiosity at a young age, and since then, it has always been my dream to become a veterinarian.

In the tenth grade of high school, I began volunteering in Camp Cheerful’s Therapeutic Horsemanship Program. In this program, children and adults, many with special needs, improve their physical and mental well-being through horseback riding. I groomed and tacked the horses to prepare them for riding sessions and led them with their riders around an arena for classes. It was truly amazing to see such strong bonds form between a rather large animal and a small child. It was also in this program that we watched one of our beloved horses suffer and pass away after a long battle with cancer. I still remember how devastated the riders and even some of the other horses were. This incident fueled my goal of becoming a veterinarian even more, and only made me more determined to save the lives of the animals that have great impacts on us.

After my first year at Ohio State, I started pursuing any opportunities that would allow me to work within the veterinary field that summer. After a month of contacting nearly 30 practices, I was finally hired by Dr. Bloze at St. Francis Animal Hospital. This small animal clinic was my first true glimpse into the veterinary field. Everything I learned, from restraining animals during office visits, to providing emotional support for clients deciding to euthanize their family pet, really opened my eyes to what the veterinary field entails. After that summer, I became a Veterinary Assistant at Perimeter Veterinary Hospital in Dublin, Ohio, to further my experiences in small animal veterinary medicine.

Learning is something that I truly enjoy doing, and I wanted to continue immersing myself in the various fields of veterinary medicine. Since last year, I have also had the opportunities to work with cows, pigs, and goats. However, one field that I had not yet explored is wildlife medicine and rehabilitation. My previous experiences have primarily focused on the domesticated animals that humans have bonded with, but it is also important to remember the animals in our backyard that shape our ecosystem. So, I started interning at the Ohio Wildlife Center this summer, a hospital and rehabilitation center that focuses on the care and release of injured wild animals.

After earning my undergraduate degree in Animal Sciences, I hope to attend Veterinary School and open my own practice one day. The experiences I’ve had with different animals have only fueled my dream of becoming a veterinarian, and I hope to have so many more throughout the next few years. I want to be able to serve the animals that do so much for us human beings, from providing companionship and keeping us well fed to keeping our ecosystem in balanced. I want to continue interacting with the world around me as much as possible and share my passions and appreciation for those animals. I can’t wait to make my dream a wonderful reality.

 

Here is my Resume ( Resume (Coimbatore)-1adzpjr )

Summer Internship 2017- Ohio Wildlife Center

This summer, I am an Animal Care Intern at the Ohio Wildlife Center’s Hospital and Pre-Release Facility. This is an organization that is dedicated to helping injured and orphaned wildlife and educating the general public about wildlife and their importance to our ecosystem. I’ve personally never had an experience in the world of wildlife care and wildlife medicine, so naturally, this organization and their internship opportunities really piqued my interest. I applied in February for this position and started during the second week of May. So far, I have learned how to feed and care for younger animals such as squirrels, possums, rabbits, ducklings, and small bird chicks like robins, sparrows, and starlings. I’ve learned how to prepare diets for adult animals and raptors and how to help with certain medical tasks such as injections and medications. So far, I have learned so much about these wonderful animals and each day is filled with experiencing something new.

Because I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio, I had to find an apartment here in Columbus so that I can gain this internship experience. In order to life some financial burdens off my shoulders regarding rent payments and gas fills for my car, I applied for STEP (Second Year Transformation Experience) funding and was approved. Thanks to this program, I can focus my time and energy on learning and not have to worry as much about the costs.

 

Job- Perimeter Veterinary Hospital

In July of 2017, I started my new job at Perimeter Veterinary Hospital, a small animal clinic in Dublin, Ohio. Since I want to attend vet school, it was important that I gain experience in the various fields of veterinary medicine. I heard about a job opening at this clinic through Ohio State’s Pre-Vet Club over the summer, and decided to apply to gain interview experience. After interviewing with then practice owner Dr. Sherrie Ridenour, I realized how much I fit in with the staff and the overall atmosphere of the clinic, and was very pleased to hear that I’d been hired.

Working throughout the school year was a bit of a challenge, as it was something I had not done since high school. I had to get used to planning my days thoroughly and making sure that I had enough time to keep up with my classes. It was tough at first, but became much easier. By working at Perimeter Veterinary Hospital, I’ve learned so much about restraining patients for physical exams, monitoring patients in surgery, and how to communicate effectively with our clients. I’m truly glad that I was able learn and grow at this clinic and am grateful to have been given this opportunity.