Why I Chose My Major

As many of my high school classmates entered the workforce after graduating, I intend to continue working toward my career goals; entering into Purdue’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. This academic goal was established from a very young age, and I never intend to give up on it. Hard work had been my lifestyle in high school and this same work ethic will get me through my undergraduate years.

My passion for livestock came from my uncle’s farm. One day, when I was 7, my uncle trusted me to bottle feed a calf that was rejected by its mother. I fell in love — my determination to make this calf my new best friend and make a difference in its life turned into a passion for being ‘in the barn.’ Today, I still help him in his hog operation by administering shots. Knowing the barn is a favorite place of mine, I carefully chose high school courses such as Animal Science, ALS Animals, Anatomy, and AP Biology. Alongside my love for my science classes, my love for Purdue Boilermakers was evident in my high school years. I grew up a Purdue fan, from going to basketball games when I was a mere toddler, participating in super saturday as a curious child, attending Purdue summer camps as an ambitious middle schooler, and all the way to my college visit as a driven senior. Purdue has always been my home and they had everything I needed to help me reach my academic goals. So with my classroom experiences matching my passions for the barn and my heart spirit and heart screaming for Purdue, I decided major in Animal Sciences.

The educational path to veterinary school is a long, competitive, and rigorous road, so I spent significant time exploring the field to ensure that it is the path I want to take. The summer before my eighth grade year I started to volunteer as an assistant at my local vet clinic, with Dr. Loretta Wernert. By her side I learned much about beloved companion animals. I enjoyed participating in many win-win situations regarding pet care and health, but I also witnessed some ugly endings that left me with a heavy heart. Nevertheless, these sorrowful moments for some pets and their owners did not deter my interest as I continued my experience there the next two summers. The past two summers I have been shadowing Dr. Larry Horstman, a cattle theriogenologist. Here I was able to utilize my appreciation for science as I found myself recollecting knowledge I learned in my high school coursework and connecting it to what the veterinarian was explaining right in front of me. Shadowing expanded my knowledge outside of my high school classes and allowed me varied experiences like a necropsy on a seemingly healthy animals that developed a mysterious illness and palpating a pregnant cow’s uterus. Dr. Wernert and Dr. Horstman were huge influences in my path to learn more about the veterinarian world and ultimately helped me confirm my passion for animals and the yearning to make a difference the in the veterinary industry.

Cite this page