A deeper dive into her passion for veterinary medicine at prominent universities

During a period when many students struggle to find an interest, they can envision a future in, which a select few have already chosen their path. 

Godwin senior Sam Lionberger spent her summer pursuing her dream of studying veterinary medicine by attending a nine-day-long veterinary program at Virginia Tech, where she was exposed to a legitimate college experience staying in the dorms and eating in the dining halls.

It can be rare for students to find areas of study that they are dedicated to, but for Lionberger, her path was always apparent. 

“My interest in being a veterinarian began when I was little,” stated Lionberger. As a child, Lionberger delighted in looking at different animals at pet stores, and on her birthdays she would donate pet toys to local shelters instead of receiving gifts.

As she grew older and became more educated on the role of doctors, she “fell in love with the idea of working in medicine,” and saw veterinary science as “a job where [she] could become a doctor while still working with the animals [she] loved”.

Her passion for medicinal sciences eventually led her to the medical science center at Godwin which has provided her with “many opportunities to explore science, math, and medical sciences” and allowed her to “do an internship at a small animal clinic” that encouraged her dream.

However, specialized veterinary camps provide Lionberger with something that the center never could: a deeper dive into her interests. 

“In school, it is cool to talk with people who want to go into different professions,” said Lionberger, “but I haven’t been able to geek out about veterinary-related things as much as I could with the people I knew at these camps”. 

In addition to her most recent experience, Lionberger has attended three other veterinary camps: two with NC State and one with Clemson. 

Her first two experiences were with NC State, with the first being virtual, which “was much harder to learn from as [they] couldn’t do any hands-on things”.

On the contrary, her second NC State camp was in person, and Lionberger was not only able to perform actual dissections and work physically with animals but also attend lectures that “were much more informative and entertaining”. 

Similarly, her experience at Clemson was more personal and dealt with unique methods of caring for large animals such as “work[ing] a cow chute, feed[ing] a calf, and FAMACHA scor[ing] a sheep, which is a method to test if they have anemia”.  

Lionberger’s most recent camp at Virginia Tech proved to be an unparalleled experience, unlike the others where she attended lectures and performed labs at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

“It was nice and eye-opening to be on the campus,” said Lionberger. “Going into it I thought there weren’t going to be many people on campus, but there were at least five other camps plus multiple conferences going on simultaneously”. 

While Lionberger accomplished many new tasks, some stood out more than others. “My favorite activity was going to tour the dairy farm,” stated Lionberger, “and while we were there some graduate students were getting blood from a cow for a research study”.

Lionberger then got to tour various areas associated with cows that intrigued her, such as “where they store and mix the food, where the cows stay when they are being milked, the fields the cows are in when they are “off duty”, the milking parlor, and the quarantine/birthing stalls”.

However, despite the richness of the camp, there were still challenges to overcome. The veterinary camp, which also focused on the importance of leadership, valued interpersonal skills, which proved difficult for Lionberger.

“I am rather nervous when meeting new people or talking in front of groups,” said Lionberger, “but both of those things were very important to this camp,” and “overcoming this obstacle has helped me greatly with my public speaking and interpersonal skills”. 

In addition to valuable lessons learned, the camp also provided an outlet for Lionberger to express her interests more freely. 

“The most rewarding part of camp was being surrounded by people who love veterinary medicine as much as I do”, said Lionberger, who appreciated being in a space where everyone shared the same passions. 

In the future, Lionberger looks forward to pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian by applying to the Animal Sciences Pre-Vet major at all the colleges she is interested in.

“Most of the colleges I am looking at already have vet schools attached to them,” said Lionberger, “which will help me get internships and research opportunities in the field of veterinary medicine”.

After college, she intends to apply to veterinary school at various colleges, with Virginia Tech being her ideal choice.

Additionally, she hopes to specialize in large animal medicine with farm animals or horses.

The feat of finding your passion in life is one that many people may never accomplish. However, Lionberger is already laying the foundation for a successful future of helping animals in need and researching the things she loves.