About Me/History

Photo Courtesy of: Melissa Wise

My Start

I was born in Pittsburgh, a large city with few large animals and even fewer farms. So how did I end up at Penn State studying Animal Sciences? It started with an early love of small animals. Like many young girls, I wanted to become a veterinarian. While many outgrow this dream to find a new one I was firm in my choice despite the difficulty of the path it would take to get me there.

In grade school, I had more of a desire to play outdoors than to do homework, resulting in less than desirable grades. As I grew older, I began to realize the implications these grades would have on my future and I devoted myself to reversing this trend. I was able to turn my grades around and become a good student with much better grades by the time I graduated from grade school, and I was even able to enroll in a few honors classes.

By high school I picked up the pace even further and was able to graduate third in my class. Though I strove to do well academically, I still needed an output for all of my extra time, so I joined many clubs and activities in my school. These included:

- the Leadership Team (executive board)

- Stage Crew (Captain Junior and Senior years)

- Supporting Roles in musicals (simutaeous to stage crew)

- Crew (rowing) Team (medaled at Lindamood Cup)

- Job as Hostess, promoted to Waitress (3 years)

- & many more 

College (Penn State)

Upon applying to college, my good grades and multiple activities were able to secure me entrance into all of the schools I applied to. Ultimately I chose a place at the main campus of Penn State as the school I wanted to go to. Since the day I chose my school, I have had no regrets to my choice. This school has brought me endless experiences that I know I never would have found anywhere else. Part of the experiences I was able to gain came from the clubs I have been involved in. Just like in high school, I joined as many clubs as drew my interest, including Collegiate Horsemen's Assn., Small and Exotic Animal Club, etc. Each of these helped me understand that while I may have originally thought to become a small animal vet, my heart truly desired to work with large animals.

Photo from my summer internship at Stonewall Farm

As a test for a future career working with large animals, I decided that I would have to try working an internship somewhere in the large animal industry. At first, with my background and limited formal training working with large animals, it was hard to break into the industry. My big break came in the form of a summer internship, following my sophomore year. I was able to get the intern position working on a small Thoroughbred breeding and training facility in WV called Stonewall Farm. The internship was a minimal three week position with the potential for more time depending on evaluation from the farm owner/manager. I left for the job as soon as school ended and put my heart and soul into my work as soon as I arrived. The three yearling horses I was assign to train flourished with each passing week and I was able to stay for a full ten weeks before I had to return home to begin getting ready for school in the fall. It was sad to leave and I wished I were able to return to help this summer when I was asked back, but I had already gotten a position at another farm.

Heading into my Junior Year, I had much more experience than before and was able to use that experience in many of my classes. I even decided to pick up the Equine Science minor offered through my college. During the course of the year I was able to take many more classes that were specific to my major, solidifying my choice to work with large animals. While taking classes, I was fortunate enough to take a Reproductive Physiology course. I fell in love with the material over the course of that fall and by the time Spring Semester rolled around, I decided it would be a good idea to try to find an internship in the reproductive field, to further explore this interest. When I heard about the opportunity to work at Hanover Shoe Farms, the world's largest harness racing horse breeding operation, I quickly handed in my resume and cover letter, and  the following interview seemed to go well. A few weeks later, I received the email that, out of over 30 applicants, I had been offered the single summer internship position at Hanover.

My summer at Hanover was much more than I could ever have expected. During the 2nd week the veterinarian that I was working under was injured while giving vaccinations for a Strangles outbreak that had been affecting certain regions of the farm. The injuries she sustained caused her to remain on sick-leave for the rest of the internship duration and sent the working staff into a period of mild confusion as the new vet learned the ropes of the farm and the interns helped in whatever ways we could. Some days were longer than others (I remember a week in which my work log reached 120 hours), but through even the toughest times we all kept coming back each day. That summer taught me a lot about biohazard protocol, Standardbred horses, veterinary medicine, and some of the hazards that come with the job.

After finishing the summer, I returned to vet school applications, interviews, and the assorted chaos that accompanies senior year. I picked up a new hobby (ballroom dancing) and made many new friends even as I knew I would soon graduate and leave them behind. After accepting the position offered at U. Glasgow, I became even more distraught over the distance that would be between my friends and I, though I still reveled in the opportunity that had been placed before me.

For my final summer in the States, I decided to branch out by taking on an part time internship position at Centre Wildlife Care. Working with wild animals was completely different from any of the work I had done previous but it too was a learning experience. Handling stubborn squirrels and ravenous raccoons was no easy task but it provided many hours of entertainment during the mild summer days. In addition to this I somehow was recruited to teach introductory Salsa dancing lessons during my days off. Between the two different activities I was kept much busier than expected but still managed to spend much needed time with friends before my big trip.

*For more information about some of the experiences I have had and leadership roles I have obtained in the course of my time at Penn State, feel free to look at my Resume.

College (U. Glasgow)

I arrived in Scotland on September 4th and began my introduction to the curriculum on the 9th. I will be here for the next 5 years studying Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. Upon completion of the program I will graduate from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and because the school is AVMA accredited I will be able to practice in the US as well as the UK and Australia. As part of this experience I will be updating this blog with my experiences abroad and within the veterinary medical field.