I took a lot of science classes, volunteered at an animal shelter and spent summers on my aunt's farm helping with the animal chores. When I started college, I began volunteering at an animal rehab facility. I also started working at Petco Grooming to learn how to handle animals of all temperaments. Finally, in my sophomore year, I found a job at an actual veterinary clinic and worked there as an assistant through my undergraduate years and veterinary school.
I also did things I didn't love but knew would be good for my resume. For example, I shadowed at a meat packing plant for a summer. There, I followed the USDA veterinarian as they inspected cattle pre and post-mortem to ensure food safety, animal health prior to human consumption, and proper animal handling. This was not fun at all; I hated it. But I think it helped with my resume and gave me perspective on all the jobs that a veterinarian can have and this is an important job! I also worked at a research facility during my junior and senior years of college. The research project used mice to study human breast cancer, and my job as the lab assistant was to perform necropsies on all the mice. This was really tough, as I had to euthanize the mice that developed tumors, dissect them and save all vital organs and all tumors for further evaluation. Again, I did not like this job, but it helped my resume and showed me another avenue I could pursue as a veterinarian.
Once accepted into veterinary school, I joined all the possible clubs to stay involved and learn as much as possible. Vet school is another beast of an experience, as it is extremely time-consuming, mentally and physically draining, and gives an impossible amount of information to memorize. Still, I loved it all the same.
