Resume

Reflection from my time at UF. My favorite course was Nontraditional Shelter Animals. It was taught by Dr. Jarred, who also advised me during my first Capstone course. The shelters I have worked in have never housed any nontraditional animals. The last shelter I worked at brought in around nine rabbits from a hoarding/seizure case to protect while local rescues were contacted. We had neither the right education nor adequate husbandry. They were housed in a single dog run.  Having never worked in shelters with nontraditional animal husbandry knowledge, Dr. Jarred’s course allowed me to research, explore, and create my own SOPs. My learning was cultivated into a Final Presentation in which I chose to create rat SOPs for shelters. This application helped me understand that shelter systems are not only in place for dogs and cats, but for all pets.

 

What's my future after graduation? I am researching PhD programs around the United States for a chance to further my education. In the meantime, I am applying for professor positions locally to gather experience teaching, something I want my career to be. I am unsure if I want to apply to veterinary schools in the future. I have applied for two cycles, but I haven’t been discouraged. I’ve simply redirected my focus so as not to lose valuable time on my education and my career plans.

 

How did my program help me? The mentorship I received for my Capstone was initially a bit tiring as I had several advisors instead of only one or two. However, I quickly realized the opportunity I had been presented with. I was lucky enough to speak with and learn from five separate Capstone advisors, all of whom had different opinions on my topic. There was some overlap in feedback, but it was interesting to see what piece of my project each advisor locked onto. It helped me see how they each saw my work and what they wanted to see more of that I was lacking. Overall, they helped me in different ways for the same goal: a successful Capstone Presentation. Being able to interact with these stances helped show me how people exist in different spaces of shelter medicine. This helped broaden my ability to approach a situation from a handful of viewpoints. In short, I feel like I’m capable of being more inclusive because I can identify levels of opinions that might not be my own.