At the end of my junior year, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a veterinarian. I had always had an intense love for animals, but I was never sure how to pursue this passion in the form of school and a career.
Several phone calls and hours of research later, I learned that at least 2,000 hours of volunteer work was required to even be considered for the Veterinary Program at Colorado State University, the school of my dreams, so I got to work.
The majority of my summer days were spent, not at the pool or on vacation, but in a cold, smelly animal shelter in the veterinary clinic. I worked a total of about 200 hours, not even a dent in the 2,000 I would need to acquire in three years time.
My internship was everything I could have hoped for. Throughout the day, my phone would light up with texts from my friends, inviting me to lunch, a movie, or the lake, but I was too absorbed in my work to care about a social life. My quest for volunteer hours turned into a hunt for knowledge, and it could be found everywhere, from learning to intubate a dog to simple administration of vaccinations and FELV tests.
During my time at the clinic, I watched countless gory surgeries, and enjoyed every morbid minute of it. I jumped at the chance to cauterize a vein and barely flinched when I observed a cat’s eye being removed.
It was almost scary how comfortable I was around all the blood, organs, procedures, and gruesome events I watched take place. I was completely at home in the sterile environment that somehow still managed to smell like dog hair and cat urine, and that’s how I knew that becoming a veterinarian was what I was meant to do.
By the start of my senior year, I was still pursuing this dream career. I had my schedule rearranged in order to take a Vet Science class and plans to join FFA’s Vet Science team. The time spent in this class has further increased my knowledge of animal anatomy, cat and dog practicums, tool identification, and most recently, how to trim a goat’s hooves, all which will come in handy during vet school and beyond.
After being accepted into Colorado State University and receiving a scholarship, my dreams were affirmed; I knew I was on the right path, and it will continue to stretch on for me as I continue to further my career as an aspiring veterinarian.
I will be able to apply to CSU’s Vet school in my sophomore year of college, and the road to acceptance will be long and difficult. I will have to amass many more service hours than my schedule can allow, but I believe that it will all be worth it to attain the dreams I have.
