As a student in the Class of 2019, I know how important it is to not only go to all my classes, but to pay attention and engage in the course material. My role in the veterinary technology program is to perform to the best of my ability from the start of an assignment, class, or lab, to the finish. I also know how significant it is to be a good classmate—helping peers when needed, being a mentor to first-year students, and supporting my classmates as they support me.

Taking advantage of all the opportunities that come my way is another part of being in MSU’s Veterinary Technology Program. As a shy person, I don’t always enjoy being the center of attention, but this program has taught me that being under pressure and being watched helps me to perform tasks better and more efficiently. 

Since I was a little girl, I’ve held a passion for working with animals. In my senior year of high school, I had an internship at a veterinary clinic where I shadowed a veterinarian and veterinary technicians. After my internship was complete, I knew I wanted to pursue an education dedicated to veterinary medicine somehow.

Being a veterinary technology student is both exciting and exhausting. It’s exciting in the sense that I’m able to gain animal- and health-related knowledge while learning in an interactive laboratory environment where my classmates and I get to experience things that we may not have had the opportunity to experience before the College’s Veterinary Technology Program.

The Veterinary Technology Program can be exhausting because we hit the ground running in the beginning of the semester and we don’t stop until the semester is over. Keeping our goal of being Licensed Veterinary Technicians (hopefully future name change to Veterinary Nurse) in mind helps fuel our motivation during the long and sometimes stressful days.

The most misunderstood thing about being a veterinary technician in training is honestly, the name “veterinary technician.” A lot of people don’t know what the name means or what our job includes, so people assume our title means we’re veterinarians. 

The possibility of the veterinary technician title changing to veterinary nurse is very exciting because the public will have a better understanding of what veterinary technicians do, seeing as they will be able to compare veterinary nurses to human nurses. Also, the fact that veterinary technicians can’t work unless they are licensed may become clearer. 

The most important thing I’ve learned as a veterinary technology student is that the patient is the most important part of what veterinary technicians do—assessing the whole patient and not just the chief complaint of the patient makes it so I don’t miss something very important that could help lead to a quicker diagnosis.