意大利冒险
CALS student gains hands-on experience shadowing veterinarians in 意大利
A desire to gain more experience working with large animals led Mikayla McCormick on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. McCormick spent two weeks during summer 2023 shadowing veterinarians in Florence, 意大利, immersing herself in Italian culture while working at animal rescues and rehabilitation centers.
A routine email from the University of Idaho’s Pre-Veterinary Club alerted McCormick to the 意大利医生奖学金 于是她决定冒险一试. McCormick, a senior from Windsor, California studying animal and veterinary science: pre-veterinary option, selected the Florence option because of its focus on livestock animals.
“I wanted more hands-on experience with large animals,”她说。. “I wanted to gain more experience around equine because I don’t have any substantial experience. It was a good opportunity to get my foot in there and get some experience.”
McCormick spent five hours each day observing six different veterinarians as they provided care to a variety of animal species at 利普动物诊所, Rifugio Ohana 和 意大利马匹保护 center. Although the program is marketed as a shadowing experience, she was thrilled at the hands-on opportunities that the students were allowed to participate in.
“I went in with the mindset that it was going to be just watching, 我没意见吗, 但是我们做了疫苗, 血了, there was a dental specialist that came in to do the donkey’s dental work and we got to feel what she was feeling inside their mouth,”她说。. “这是一次非常棒的亲身体验.”
Four students participated in the Florence program which allowed for more personal interaction with the veterinarians 和 managers of the animal facilities. 麦考密克利用了这个亲密的环境, asking questions and volunteering to help where needed. While she was able to gain new knowledge and work with animals she hadn’t in the past, the biggest takeaway for McCormick was seeing how the veterinarians interacted with the animals 和ir caregivers.
“这次经历改变了我的情感. Some of the animals at the sanctuaries came from abusive homes,”她说。. “Where we were at was non-profit and strictly donation 和 vets were so selfless with the way they provided care. 这种无私是我获得的东西, 我想把它应用到成为一名兽医上, 真正关心动物和它们的主人.”
The program fee of $5,000 was money well spent in McCormick’s opinion.
“It wasn’t cheap, but at the same time you were getting experiences that you don’t get in the U.S. 这是物有所值的，”她说.
发现爱达荷州
麦考密克一直很喜欢动物, but losing her first dog when she was 10 made her realize that she wanted to help other people going through similar situations — 和 animals themselves.
She originally enrolled in the pre-veterinary program at Cal Poly, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for her to connect with classmates and gain the hands-on experience she was craving. She had heard about the U of I animal and veterinary science program and when she learned that U of I classes were being offered in-person while others were still remote, 她决定转学.
“I needed to go somewhere that I could actually do things and not just online,”她说。. “我真的很感激我们的班级这么小. 这里的教授都知道我的名字.”
2022年1月，她来到了学校, McCormick joined the Pre-Veterinary Club and Women’s Basketball Club team and was able to start making the connections and friends that she had been seeking.
“I really enjoy all the opportunities and how everyone is 100% willing to answer your questions,”她说。.
McCormick will graduate in December 2023 and is applying to veterinary schools with a plan to focus on livestock production animals.
“I don’t like being confined to a space for eight hours a day. I’m very much an outside person and that’s one of the reasons why I’d love to work with livestock,”她说。. “It is such an important industry because it supplies our food that we need on a regular basis. It is a needed position and I just want to help animals so wherever I’m needed, I’ll go.”