It Runs in the Family
Hannah Streams grew up on a small hobby farm in New Mexico surrounded by animals. Propped on a hill, Streams would watch as her dad pulled up the driveway. She would race toward him, eager to hear his crazy story from work that day.
His occupation? Veterinarian.
“His passion really got me excited as a kid, and then it just kind of always stayed with me because we were so connected to animals,” Streams said.
And if one animal-loving parent wasn’t enough, Streams’ mom is a horseback rider. As a result, animals and veterinary medicine have always been the suns Streams revolves around.
More Than an Animal-focused Occupation
It made sense for Streams to follow a veterinary path, but she chose to do so, driven by her understanding of who she truly is.
“It started as loving animals as a kid, and as I grew up and realized how extroverted I am, it really turned into how much I love people,” Streams said. “I think it’s really cool to get to connect to people over their bond with an animal.”
Although her passion for helping and healing animals runs deep, Streams said that, for her, being a veterinarian equally encompasses how she can help people. Emotional cases are challenging for owners and veterinarians alike, but Streams emphasized that veterinarians must be in tune with their own emotions and those of their clients.
Connections with Clients
“The part that I remember most about a case is the way that it made the people feel,” Streams said. “I get a lot of gratification from making sure owners understand what’s happening with their pet or giving them peace of mind when their animal is in the hospital — that here’s where things are at, here’s how they’re doing, these are the things I’m doing to make (the animal’s) stay more comfortable. I get a lot of gratification from that serviceability.”
During her fourth year, a German shorthaired pointer that couldn’t use its legs entered the hospital. It was a day full of surgery, one where Streams even saw the dog’s spinal cord.
He didn’t improve much, but his family visited him every day, and Streams grew to know them and, of course, the dog very well. The connection between the three parties built upon itself daily, and Streams thrived from the constant communication. Eventually, she had to say her goodbyes but saw the dog return home with his family.
‘You Can Do Anything, But You Can’t Do Everything’
Learning how to juggle multiple responsibilities successfully is what the fourth year of veterinary school is all about, according to Streams. For some of her clinical rotations, she’d work 90-plus hours weekly.
During her first year, balancing veterinary medicine with outside life felt even more strenuous. To get into veterinary school, Streams embraced every opportunity to stand out on her application: maintaining grades, volunteering, working, and more.
“I think we get really used to running at 100 miles an hour, and I wish I would’ve just told myself, ‘It’s OK if you just do school because that’s going to be hard enough and a challenge enough in itself,’” Streams said. “I think just reminding myself to be gentle with myself, and I’m doing the best I can, and you don’t have to do everything all the time.”
Idaho is Just a Stepping Stone Away
During her four years in veterinary college, Streams pursued her love of travel by participating in externships in California, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, and more.
After graduation, Streams will head to the Lewiston Veterinary Clinic in Idaho — a place far from her home state and one she has visited only a few days. For her, selecting the place she wanted to work after college was an easy decision.
She recalled that when she was a senior in high school, she sat in a two-hour lecture her dad gave to veterinary students. He wrapped it up by acknowledging how hard they had worked and told them they were almost at the finish line.
He also told them they’d continue working hard in their career, but the one thing he said that stuck with Streams throughout all these years was, “I hope you look at my career and see how much fun I had.”
And in Idaho, fun was what she saw and will continue to strive toward in the years to come.
“I really felt at home at this clinic,” Streams said. “It was the first time I was there … When I was at this clinic, I was walking around, and I could just see myself having fun there.”
By Chloe Barbarise
