This April, three MSU students traveled to Washington, D.C. for the annual American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Legislative Fly-In. These students collaborated with nearly 100 other veterinary students and veterinarians to educate the nation’s policymakers about issues of importance to the veterinary profession.

The Fly-In is hosted by the AVMA’s Governmental Relations Division. The event offers participants the opportunity to learn more about the federal legislative process as they encourage members of Congress to support legislation that impacts the veterinary profession and US animal agriculture. It also exposes students to the ways in which they can use their veterinary degrees to shape public policy. 

This year, DVM students Allison Allum (’20), Matthew Kulpa (’20), and Katelynn Youatt (’19) represented the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine at the Fly-In. On the first day, they met with the AVMA’s Governmental Relations Division to discuss the bills for which they would be advocating. They also met with alumna Chelsey Shivley (DVM ’12), who is currently an AVMA Congressional fellow.

“Meeting with Chelsey was a reminder that there is so much more to our field than people realize,” said Kulpa. “I’ve always been interested in politics and government. Meeting someone who is doing what I want to do makes me feel confident that I am on the right path.”

After a day of learning how to present the legislation, the students met with the staff members of Representative Mike Bishop and Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters. During this meeting, the students shared about how the bills affected each of them personally.

“I’ve known about the Fly-In for years, and it has always sounded like a good way to get involved and take action,” said Allum. “It was amazing to be able to personally advocate for policies.”

Kulpa agrees that one of the most memorable parts of the experience was attending meetings with staff members and advocating for policies.

“It was great to have the chance to interact with the staff members of our state representatives,” said Kulpa. “At the end of the day, it is up to us to explain how these policies will affect us, and it is up to our representatives to hear our concerns and take action.”