![[Mackenzie with Odin the red-tailed hawk]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/sb-wells-odin-260x157.jpg)
A First-Year’s Perspective Under normal circumstances, starting professional school feels a bit like stepping into the unknown. As I anticipated my first quarter of veterinary school, this feeling was only amplified by the uncertainty of a global pandemic. Not only was I unsure of what classes would be like, I was worried that things such...
Editor’s note: The following commentary written by student leaders was published in the News-Gazette on October 1. Pictured above are some of the Open House committee members and members of VOICE (Veterinarians as One Inclusive Community for Empowerment): from left, Julie Klein, Michael Greener, Alexandria Talley (behind), Francesca Giambrone, Jenny Despotovich, Alysse Budd, Alexander Nelson,...
![[Sarah Wright at an aquarium]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/final-blog-feature-260x157.jpg)
‘Thank you for the learning, friendship’ When we’re young we learn the alphabet. I remember dressing up as the letter “Z” for the alphabet parade in kindergarten, parading around my elementary school with zippers glued to my t-shirt. For senior veterinary students, the alphabet takes on a different meaning. There are 26 letters in the...
After a much-needed winter break filled with home-cooked meals, catching up on sleep, and spending time with family and friends, the Class of 2022 returned to campus for our second 8-week series of clinical rotations. Entering clinics as a second-year student has been substantially different (and in my opinion, better) than our first-year rotations. A...
![[entrance to US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/USAMRIID3-260x157.jpg)
‘an incredible team of … veterinarians’ In the spring of 2017 I attended my second Gordon Research Conference on Chemical and Biological Terrorism Defense in California. Toward the beginning of the meeting, I made my way to dinner, where a co-attendee asked if he could join me at my table, and we began chatting. As...
![[Courtney and Michael with clinician in Brazilian veterinary hospital]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/sb-brazil2019-feature2-260x157.jpg)
Editor’s note: Courtney Dixon (at left above, with fellow student and a Brazilian clinician) and Michael Greener traveled to Curitiba, Brazil, for an extended externship experience last summer. They each submitted a blog about the trip. Learn more about international veterinary medicine programs.
![[Taylor Willis, at right, with colleagues at Kruger National Park]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/sb-willis-sa-feature-260x157.jpg)
‘I hope to return one day’ I think I truly understand now why Toto had to create a whole song about Africa. It is a continent full of mystique and wonder that leaves you mesmerized wherever you look. It is a hot bed of history, culture, food, and most importantly to me … an area...
The 67th IVSA Congress in Kraków conference provided educational opportunities, cultural immersion, forever friendship, and future travels for veterinary students.
![[Illinois student group at Currumbin]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/sb-group-australia-2019-260x157.jpg)
Koalas and echidnas and bats, oh my! Over spring break this year, five Illinois veterinary students and instructor Dr. Sarah Reich, medical director of the college’s Wildlife Medical Clinic, visited the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland, Australia. They participated in many activities in its wildlife hospital. Following are highlights from the students about their week...
![[students in the Class of 2020]](https://vetmed.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sb-clinics-wright-260x157.jpg)
We, the Class of 2020, are officially one month into our clinical rotations! The transition from classroom to the clinic floor has been a whirlwind of challenges and learning, but it has also been very rewarding. At this point, we have all participated in three two-week blocks of clinical rotations. I spent my first two...