Where I'm Meant to Be: Growth, Clarity, and the Road to Vet School

Last week, I wrote about the “in-between” — that strange space after graduation where you’re no longer a student, but you’re not quite where you ultimately want to be either. I shared how I stepped into full-time work, how I questioned my direction for a moment, and how I ultimately found my way back to veterinary medicine with more clarity than before.

This week feels more personal.

Because as I’ve been working on my veterinary school applications, I haven’t just been updating hours and responsibilities — I’ve been revisiting the moments that shaped me.

And some of them still feel very vivid.

It Started Long Before Applications

My path toward veterinary medicine didn’t begin in a hospital. It began with curiosity — with wildlife, conservation, and wanting to understand how living systems work.

During college, I assisted with Eastern Box Turtle telemetry research and later conducted my Honors thesis on amphibian disease, studying Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in native Pennsylvania species. I remember running PCR late in the lab, staring at gel electrophoresis results, hoping bands would appear where they were supposed to. Research taught me patience. It taught me that answers aren’t always immediate — and that sometimes the data raises more questions than it resolves.

One of the most impactful days of my undergraduate experience came when I assisted the Pennsylvania Game Commission alongside a wildlife director from the University of Pennsylvania. We conducted necropsies on bald eagles, otters, opossums, and deer, collecting tissue and organ samples for research projects led by university students around the world.

There’s something humbling about performing a necropsy on a bald eagle — a symbol so powerful in our country. We carefully preserved samples for research, and I witnessed the respectful process of proper disposal and donation of eagle remains to Native American tribes.

That day stayed with me.

It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t easy. But it reinforced that veterinary and wildlife medicine exist at the intersection of science, ethics, conservation, and respect.

Finding My Place in the Clinic

My clinical experiences grew gradually.

I worked my way up from kennel technician to technician at Town and Country Animal Hospital, learning what it meant to monitor hospitalized patients, enforce NPO orders, run diagnostics, and educate clients. At Clarion Animal Hospital, I assisted in orthopedic and routine surgeries and independently monitored overnight patients. Those quiet overnight shifts — just me, the monitors, and recovering patients — forced me to trust my training.

At one point, I transitioned into laboratory animal care with the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR), where I worked within a highly regulated biomedical research environment. In this role, I upheld rigorous biosecurity and compliance standards while providing daily husbandry and clinical support for mice, rats, rabbits, ferrets, and swine. My responsibilities contributed to advancing translational research in human medicine, while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, ethical care, and regulatory oversight were consistently maintained.

Now, working at Greenfield Veterinary Hospital and gaining urgent care experience at UrgentVet, I feel the full weight of responsibility in a different way. I triage cases. I monitor anesthesia. I talk with worried owners. I help steady nervous pets. Some days are fast and chaotic. Some cases break your heart.

But even on the hardest days, I feel aligned.

There’s a quiet moment sometimes — usually after surgery, when a patient is waking up safely — where I think, this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Leadership, Growth, and Identity

When I look back at college, I don’t just see science courses and clinical hours. I see leadership.

I served as President of Student Senate at PennWest Clarion, helped guide student governance during university integration, and regularly met with senior leadership. I led the Western Pennsylvania Society for Conservation Biology, growing membership and establishing conservation initiatives.

I tutored biology, mentored first-year students, hosted a student podcast, worked event services, led orientation programs, and even acted in a campus production. I built an independent pet-sitting service and also won a business competion for a large scale animal care facility.

Those experiences shaped my confidence in rooms far outside of a clinic. They taught me to communicate clearly, advocate respectfully, and make difficult decisions.

None of those experiences were random. They shaped how I lead, adapt, and serve.

Veterinary medicine requires all of that.

Still Growing — Intentionally

One thing this “in-between” season has taught me is that growth doesn’t stop just because you graduate.

I recently joined the National Pre-Vet Club because I want to stay connected to other aspiring veterinarians and continue learning from different perspectives. I’m actively looking for additional certifications, experiences, and opportunities that will strengthen not just my application — but my education.

Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about checking boxes.

It’s about becoming the best future veterinarian I can be.

A More Honest Reflection

If I’m being honest, working on applications has been emotional.

It’s strange to condense years of growth into character limits. To reduce long nights, difficult cases, leadership challenges, and personal doubt into bullet points.

But it has also reminded me how far I’ve come.

The in-between isn’t just about waiting for the next chapter.
It’s about actively building it.

If you’re in your own in-between season — whether you’re applying to graduate school, changing careers, or simply figuring things out — I hope you give yourself credit for the work you’ve already done. Reflection can feel uncomfortable, but it can also be grounding.

As I continue this journey, I’m open to advice. If you’re in veterinary medicine, higher education, or have recommendations for certifications, licensure, or experiences that helped shape your path, I would genuinely love to hear them.

This process isn’t just about getting into vet school.

It’s about becoming ready for it.

And I’m committed to doing the work — even in the in-between.