Veterinary Student Takes on the Animal Studies Summer Institute

Kelly holding an Eastern Box Turtle on a Turtle Team trip with the University of Illinois Wildlife Epidemiology Lab.

At the sixth annual Animal Studies Summer Institute, held in June 2024, I participated in an international animal studies cohort as a representative of veterinary medicine. Directed by Dr. Jane Desmond, professor in anthropology at the University of Illinois, and co-directed by Dr. Kim Marra, a faculty member at the University of Iowa, this week-long institute offered a chance to explore advances in animal studies across several fields and countries. Each day was carefully crafted to incorporate plenaries with notable speakers, discussions on multispecies topics and animal law, and workshops to develop scholarly writing and public engagement skills.

What is the Animal Studies Summer Institute?

The Animal Studies Summer Institute, fondly referred to as “ASSI,” is a welcoming and inviting place for veterinary students who have passions for interdisciplinary work. My project, Interdisciplinary Needs in Wildlife Medicine, was welcomed and thoroughly examined in a seminar with representatives studying philosophy, multispecies history and anthropology, American studies, and women’s and genders studies. Despite not being a graduate, fully-cooked DVM, I realized that the lessons from lectures, labs, and clinical rotations could broaden and even clarify interdisciplinary conversations.

Coming from an interdisciplinary background in botany, animal rescue, and nature conservation, I found this institute to be a diverse space to learn from other disciplines. In seminars, I reviewed captivating works about Indonesian orangutans, Florida dolphins, Italian clam farms, and piggy banks. Breaks included looking for raccoons for international visitors and hopping up on the carriage pulled by “Big Fred,” a scale model horse and riding cart installed by ASSI co-director Kim Marra.  

Bringing ASSI Lessons Back to Campus…And Beyond

Inspiration traveled with me from the institute to my third year in veterinary school on the Urbana campus. Seeking additional interdisciplinary opportunities, I volunteered for the Human-Wildlife Interactions Lab at the Urbana Bat Festival and banded saw-whet owls with the Ward Ornithology Lab.

After a few weeks of 5:30 a.m. junior surgery labs and midnight saw-whet owl encounters, I took a travel grant to attend the 10th Annual Animal Welfare Symposium of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA), held at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.

Here, I learned of a grant that could allow veterinary students at the University of Illinois to help with local pet overpopulation. After applying for the grant and partnering with Dr. Frazier in the shelter medicine department, I was overjoyed to accept the HSVMA World Spay Day Grant for our college’s student chapter of HSVMA.

It is with passion and pride that I welcomed Dr. Desmond and fellow ASSI scholar Rita Bouwens to make our chapter’s first HSVMA World Spay Day clinic an interdisciplinary event.

The veterinary perspective is a valuable tool that belongs in future Animal Studies Summer Institutes. Three practicing veterinarians, from Austria, Switzerland, and the University of Illinois, participated in the institute before 2024.

If you are interested in sharing your perspective on a topic in veterinary medicine with an interdisciplinary group, consider becoming an ASSI scholar in 2025. All accepted applicants receive a full fellowship.

If you are a passionate, change-making person, I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.

By Kelly Giles, Class of 2026