Megan Garcia has spent most of her life in veterinary medicine. Her mom owns a small animal practice in Illinois, and Megan started working there full time at 16. She’s logged more than 10,000 hours of hands-on experience.
So what could a Master of Veterinary Science add?
In this episode of Beyond the Classroom, Dr. Maria Juarez Byrd talks with Megan about her year in the online accelerated MVS. Through problem-based learning, Megan learned to slow down and ask what is actually happening in the body, instead of jumping to the diagnosis she’d seen a hundred times. That shift paid off quickly. After working through a class case on syncope, she recognized the same pattern in a patient at her mom’s clinic and asked the question that changed the diagnosis.
Megan also shares how weekly meetings with Dr. Byrd through the MVS Writing Club reshaped her approach to the personal statement. She started by writing about 20 pages of stories, then cut them down to the moments that showed who she is, not just what she saw. She stays to the end of the episode to read her own personal statement intro.
If you’re preparing for vet school and wondering whether experience alone is enough, Megan’s story shows what happens when experience meets a new way of thinking.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
- Why Megan chose the online accelerated MVS
- How problem-based learning moved her beyond pattern recognition
- The classroom case that helped her catch a diagnosis at her mom’s clinic
- How learning issues work, and her favorite one
- Her method for turning 20 pages into a 3,000-character personal statement
- Why the best volunteer work is the kind you actually care about
- Her advice for anyone considering the MVS
ABOUT BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Beyond the Classroom is a video series from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine featuring the real stories of Master of Veterinary Science students, alumni, and faculty.
👉 Talk with our team: vetmed.illinois.edu/mvs/home/contact-us/
👉 Apply: vetmed.illinois.edu/mvs/home/apply-now/