Hometown: White Bear Lake, MN
Graduation Year: 2021
Passion: Barn animals
All-star Talent: Functional skeleton reconstruction

What made you decide to become a veterinarian?
I grew up surrounded by animals. My family had a beef farm and I’ve been around horses my entire life. As a kid I wanted to spend every moment I could in the barn with the cows and horses. As an adult, I still want to spend every moment I can in the barn around animals, and that has lead me to the veterinary profession.

How did you end up in the UAF/CSU 2+2 program?
I heard of the UAF program from a friend I played rugby with during my undergrad, and saw it as the adventure of a lifetime. I loved the thought of the small class size and increased 1-on-1 time with my professors, and knew it would give me an opportunity to learn more about rural medicine.

The lab crew pointed out your amazing work on functional skeleton reconstruction. What can you tell me about it?
Our anatomist wants us to learn based on functionality and organization so we can apply our anatomy knowledge across species. I’ve picked up the finishing of this project that was started by a student in the year ahead of me. The functional skeleton was made using miniature horse bones and nylon as muscles to model the limbs of the horse. With the functional limbs, students can see the organization of muscle groups and pull on them to see how muscle contraction affects the limb movement. The model has been a great success as the forelimbs stand on their own and we are finishing the hindlimbs using a 3D printed sacrum. This model has helped me learn and solidify my anatomy studies and now has provided the department with a great learning tool for future students.

What advice do you have for people who are interested in vet school?
Students interested in vet school need to be prepared to give it their all. If you think you’re interested in vet med, start shadowing veterinarians, volunteer at clinics, shelters or anywhere to get hands on experience. Start talking to people, telling people you are interested in vet med will open so many doors for you, because people in the profession love seeing young people excited about medicine, and generally want to help. Also, before you apply do research, know what requirements you need to take in undergrad and what experiences you need to have. Vet med is a field about constantly learning and growing, so if you’re interested in the field just start by learning about the field and what makes you passionate about it.

Want to meet more of our team? Find them here!