After attending an event hosted by the veterinary school, I have a better idea of what is needed to be a competitive applicant. Next semester I am planning to apply for a job at the veterinary medical center to get more veterinary experience. I also want to start volunteering at a food pantry and maybe also a pet vaccine clinic. I hope to do all of this while maintaining good grades and continuing to be involved in my student organizations and research lab. Over the summer I will be working at an outpatient clinic and studying for the GRE. Being a STEP participant, I want to use funding to apply to veterinary or animal care internships for the following summer which is also the time I will start applying to vet schools in the hopes of entering vet school right after I graduate. The near future seems hectic and busy, but I am fully committed to these things because I want to achieve my goal of getting into vet school. I hope that I’ll be able to utilize support from my professors, lab, and peers to accomplish all of this.
Month: April 2022
Review of SOCIOL 1101
This semester I took Introduction to Sociology as part of a General Education requirement. Before taking the class I did not have any idea what the field was about. However, as I took the class I found that it touched on a lot of topics in society that I am concerned about such as socioeconomic, racial, and gender inequality. The concepts were fairly simple, but it articulated clearly thoughts that I have previously had when looking at the same issues. The supplementary articles and studies that were added to some chapters really enhanced my understanding and gave more specific examples that allowed me to utilize and expand on the knowledge I got from the textbook. The most important thing that I felt the course stressed was objectivity. While examining other societies or practices that may seem strange or even immoral, I slowly came to approach them with less judgment and an emphasis on understanding the basis of those situations. I also found the big assignment, an essay analyzing the movie Zootopia, to be a fun way to apply what I had learned. Before this class I had only taken psychology, so combining my knowledge from these two subjects will give me a more comprehensive perspective on issues both on the individual and societal level.
Year in Review (SP22)
Academically, the last two semesters were pretty challenging. In the fall I took organic chemistry and physics, and this semester I took another organic chemistry class. Due to how rigorous my classes were, I have been slowly figuring out what study strategies and spaces work best for me. It did not come without setbacks, but I am more confident in my abilities and I know that I can keep up my good grades as long as I set my mind to it and keep focus. My schedule has been quite science-heavy and is projected to be the same in the future as well, so I am starting to think about what classes outside of science I might be interested in taking alongside my major and minor courses.
I was glad that in-person activities were being brought back, although I was intimidated at first going to club meetings where I initially did not know anyone. Pushing myself to attend events was outside of my comfort zone after such a long time being behind a screen, but I am happy that I challenged myself because as a result I met a lot of new people and got some amazing opportunities such as going on my spring break trip with Zoology Club.
My next academic year will definitely not be easy and it’s slightly stressful to think about how much closer I am to starting the application process for veterinary schools, but I am still excited for all that will come. I want to take it one step at a time and absorb as much as I can in both knowledge and memories.
Spring Break Trip
During spring break, I traveled with the OSU Zoology Club to North Carolina to volunteer at Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary (PAWS) and Lynnwood Park Zoo. PAWS focuses on the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, and I was able to work with crows, raptors, and ducks by cleaning their enclosures and/or feeding them. It was fun to learn about the animals that were housed there and to interact with wildlife that are commonly found but people normally do not have the chance to make contact with.
Lynnwood Park Zoo had a great assortment of animals, and I got to see the inner workings of a small zoo. My tasks got me up close with emus, reptiles, livestock animals, primates, and more. The picture above is an African porcupine quill that I picked up while cleaning their enclosure. Besides feeding and cleaning, we learned about other aspects of care that we got to do hands-on practice for, such as trimming hooves on a donkey. We also got to interact with guests by doing keeper talks, which involved cramming a lot of information about a particular animal and presenting it for guests to see and touch. While there, I did my first ever vaccination on a mini horse aptly named Tiny, which I personally feel is a huge milestone in my career.
This trip taught me a lot about animal care and communication, and it assured me that going down the veterinary path is something that I am enthusiastic about.