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.

This semester has really challenged me, academically and personally. I had already known that classes here at OSU were going to be challenging, but I didn’t realize how much I would have to work in order to achieve the grades I wanted, and to be truly successful in my classes. I found that I was capable of working harder than I could have possibly imagined, and that I successfully adapted to the new environment. This semester, I also found that the sky is the limit when it comes to various experiences that enhance your learning. Internships and research opportunities are every where, and it’s up to me to take advantage of those opportunities if I am to continue to grow. I also become an active member of Pre-Vet Club and Zoology Club, where I found many students with similar interests, and had the opportunity to meet people in animal related careers. Overall, this semester went well, and I hope the next one turns out to be even better.