Over the summer I was involved in an internship at Countryside Veterinary Service where I used my STEP funds to help with my living expenses. This internship was used to help me gain a better understanding of what being a large animal veterinarian means as I was an assistant to two of the large animal veterinarians. I rode along with traveling veterinarians along Ashtabula county and assisted with consults, appointments, surgeries, and other procedures.

As an Animal Science major, I am on track to become a veterinarian. I had previously decided that I was going to become a dairy veterinarian, as I have always had a passion for working with dairy cattle. At home, my family owns and operates a commercial dairy farm, where I spent many hours working with cattle and learning about the field of veterinary medicine. I always thought I wanted to become a veterinarian and work on dairy farms, not necessarily with other animal species. My viewpoint on my career, however, changed after completing my internship and realizing the enjoyment of working with a variety of large species such as equine, swine, and sheep.

During this internship, I was able to clarify that I did choose the right career path for myself. In the past, I interned at animal hospitals for small animal and equine practices. During those internships, I never felt completely fulfilled or had the same sense of passion as I had while working on my family’s dairy farm. I still did medical procedures, interacted with patients and clients, and did the same sort of medical tasks; but never felt as though I was in the right sector of my field. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the veterinarians and liked the small animals and horses that would come in, but still felt like I may have chosen the wrong field. When starting at Countryside, I decided that if I didn’t feel the same spark of passion for being a veterinarian as I had in the past, then I would remain on the path of becoming a dairy veterinarian. I went in with high expectations for the quality of learning I would receive at this clinic, and was not disappointed with the results.

At the beginning of my internship, the veterinarian and I worked with breeding horses for the first half of the morning. It was here that I noticed how much I liked working with horses in a low stress environment. Previously working at the equine hospital, there were many emergencies and high stress scenarios where I often felt overwhelmed, which made me believe I just didn’t enjoy working on equine patients. The more time I spent at Countryside with Dr. Elliott on equine patients, performing lameness exams, taking blood samples, and working with reproductive and overall health, the more I enjoyed the work that was taking place. This did not apply to just horses, I found enjoyment when working with him and Dr. Hajny on swine, sheep, goats, and cattle. After appointments, we would discuss and explain the prognosis of animals, answer question I had, and talk about the career of veterinary medicine. The quality time and attention to detail that the vets payed to their clients was something I aspired to have.

After completing my project, I have decided to pursue a career in general large animal medicine. I have submitted my applications to veterinary school as well as decided to go back to work for Countryside in the future. My outlook on general large animal medicine has changed and helped me to realize that this is what I want to do with my career. Specialization was what I thought I always wanted, but it turned out that I wanted a broader understanding of species. This internship was significant in my life because it has helped me to not only confirm my career path, but help me find a new sense of passion working across multiple species. As I hopefully move on to veterinary school I will reflect back on this internship and ask more questions regarding large animal medicine. Through this experience I have gained a better understanding of myself as well as a larger network of people I can confide in over veterinary topics.

This month has been an interesting and exciting start for the spring semester. I decided to take 17 credits which is proving to be quite a challenge but is also beneficial to my program. I am excited to start my labs for both chemistry and biology but fear that covid will have a negative impact on my learning experience. Because we started classes from home for the first two weeks I was able to learn that I do better with classes from my dorm rather than from home. I find there are too many distractions at home from family members to pets. While I did find better ways to do classes from home I am glad to be back at school where I can focus on my studying and classes. During the past month I have struggled to find a good way to study for my chemistry and biology courses. I find it difficult to remember lecture notes and rules for atoms and bonding when I review my notes and do homeworks. A way I will keep myself up to lecture is by reviewing and practicing review questions as well as reaching out for more help. I know how important this class will be for my future in medicine so I think it is important that I get the best understanding of the material as possible in order for me to be a good veterinarian.  While I may have struggled with study methods, I was able to achieve some things. While home over break I managed to find an internship opportunity. I found a small animal veterinary clinic who called me back and offered me a summer internship that I couldn’t refuse. I am grateful for the opportunity in May and will be sure to keep track of the hours that need to go towards my major. Overall, this has been a very exciting and productive month in which I was able to start classes, find new study methods, and get a wonderful opportunity.

My college experience has been challenging and has helped to shape me into becoming the person I am today. I went from driving everywhere to walking everywhere, home cooked meals to campus food, and living with my family to rooming with strangers. These changes allowed me to adapt and change the way I would normally live. I soon enjoyed walking everywhere, found campus food that I enjoyed, and became friends with all my roommates. I love living with my roommates and exploring the beauty of campus with them. We would walk everywhere with one another and find new things to do. A newfound hobby some of us took up was boarding. We all found variations of longboards, skateboards, and penny boards so we could all skate around campus. I enjoyed learning with them and eventually we all became good enough to skate all around campus. Another thing I found was that game day with my roommates was fun because we would all make lots of food and watch the game in the common room and occasionally see the field from the tower. Games were never boring and we could all be heard yelling and cheering during the game.

While there were many enjoyable things about college there were also some struggles I encountered during my first semester. Developing a schedule was critical for me to keep track for everything I had to do during the week. I would find myself stressing about assignments throughout the week because I would forget about them or not remember when they were due. I soon found my solution to be planning and writing assignments down in a planner and would refer to it when I was uncertain about classwork. The planner helped to keep me organized and prioritized to complete all my work. I also struggled to study for class midterms and quizzes but eventually found a good routine to help me prepare for my exams.

Although I did encounter some challenges in college there were some things I achieved. Something I achieved was a better understanding of other cultures. Where I come from there is not much diversity which limited my experience and exposure to cultures and their traditions. Most people from around me are farmers just like my family so it was interesting to explore my roomates traditions and different outlooks on subjects. I was jokingly deemed “exotic” when I would try something new as they were aware of how little exposure I had at home and would usually get a good laugh when I encountered something new. In return I would talk to them about agriculture and we would share our views on different subjects leading to good learning experiences. As for the spring semester I would like to try more new things and broaden my horizons. I feel like it is always a good thing to try new things and expand my knowledge. I would like to participate more in my clubs and maybe even take up another. It is important to me that I am involved and doing something for others as well as myself. Overall, my first semester at college was amazing and has taught me so much through both classes and experiences.

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