Senior Veterinary Student Externship in Wildlife Medicine in California

We are excited to share Mr. Wiley Archibald’s domestic experience below, funded by Charlie’s Angels fund.

My time spent with UC Davis and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) was an exciting combination of wildlife investigations, biological field work, management decision-making, and hands-on learning. I got to work with bats, mountain lions, bobcats, river and sea otters, raptors, elk, and more throughout the four weeks. I frequently participated in management decision-making and learned about policy writing statewide. We often discussed the difficulties of balancing stakeholders, especially regarding livestock and wild-protected species. During this experience, I also met some of the original wildlife veterinarians and policymakers doing this work. We discussed the changes they have seen in conservation principles and policy and how we must be bold with running things. It was truly amazing to meet and talk to these people and see how much the world has changed, even in just a few decades.

An opportunity like this does not exist within the framework of most veterinary schools. California holds much weight in federal and global policy, and being embedded with state veterinarians was eye-opening and showed me the lasting impression a veterinarian can leave on local, state, federal, and global health.

Without the generous global engagement grant I received, I would not have been able to do this externship, especially to its full extent. Due to the nature of being a statewide organization, I frequently travel all over the state for new learning opportunities and hands-on experiences. The funding provided allowed me to explore this critical career path without jeopardizing my financial stability or forcing me into a career that promotes financial gain over civil service.