Combining Work and Pleasure

Madeline Burke from Kansas State University submitted these very cool creative works! The first two are nail art inspired by her microanatomy course and the pumpkin is decorated with the GI tract from her gross anatomy course. Who says you can't have fun while studying?

 

Meme Monday

These memes were submitted by Elizabeth Bonnette from LSU. Thanks, Elizabeth!

Vet Med Family

This piece was submitted anonymously to TVG by a student from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dear Illinois,

We hear a lot about “Vet Med Family” at our school.  Every email from an exec board member starts and ends with, “Hey Vet Med Fam!”  Interview day and tours describe the tightness of classes and how our private Facebook pages are filled with the freshest memes.  Vetscapades every year includes a “Never Separated” category, where we all vote for those small groups that are never apart.

Yeah, those are definitely Vet Med Fam things for sure.  But this semester, Vet Med Fam has been something else entirely, at least for me.  It was texting me about updates on patients during lunch, because that’s what we would normally do everyday.  It was letting me know that you would send me notes if lectures didn’t get recorded while I was gone.  It was sending me study guides for the midterm that I took two weeks late.  It was messages letting me know you were available to talk whenever I would need it.  It was the subtle check-ins where you just stopped by my desk after I got back, where you asked if I was okay, without actually saying the words.  It was a last cupcake you had baked and you thought I needed some chocolate.  It was the invitations to coffee.  It was making fun of me for buying yet another t-shirt.  It was picking up the slack I left behind in clubs.  It was a donation to a cause that was pivotal to a person you had never even met, but who was and is still the most important person in my life.

Vet Med Family is the true support that we give each other.  We aren’t all friends.  We don’t necessarily have a full name to every face in the room.  We can annoy each other.  But in the nearly three weeks I was gone, and the nearly three months since, you’d never have known that from the massive amount of support I received.  People across classes, people who don’t know me, people who are the closest to me, faculty and staff, it didn’t matter.  The support was there.  Because of that support, I am still here with you all, prepping for finals, going downtown for trivia, scoring free food at lunch lectures.  Because of your support, I’m slowly moving forward, healing in my own way.

So thank you, Illinois.  You made the hardest time of my life a little bit easier to handle by being true Vet Med Family.

Cute Pet Alert!

Greta Doden from Illinois submitted these adorable photos of her furbabies. They're sure to give you your daily dose of cuteness!

Freja - "I see ducks!"Harlowe - "Wrinkles!"

Ham and Bean - "Santa Pigs"

Being Kind While Smelling Like Fried Rice

By: Katelyn Guill-Sanchez

My most rewarding experience thus far on my journey to DVM has nothing at all to do with animals and everything to do with humility – waiting tables. It sounds so silly, but I think waiting tables has helped me to develop better client interaction skills than any formal training that I’ve had. I work in a busy sushi/hibachi restaurant near Kansas State University every Friday and Saturday night. After every sleepless Thursday night and every dreadful 8 am Friday exam I drag myself to work – and it’s the thing I look  most forward to each week. Beyond my curriculum, it gives me a sense of time management and purpose, and some extra money in vet school always goes a long way. Being a waitress has taught me how to triage (cats and noodles are basically the same thing, right?). It has taught me to work quickly and efficiently and how to be kind and patient with strangers, even under stress. I love my job. I have met some wonderful people, and my restaurant experience even landed me my Student Rep position with Hill’s. I strongly encourage other students to work odd jobs during summer breaks if their schedules allow. Taking a step outside of vet med has given me a new perspective on being understanding and patient with strangers – because hell hath no fury like small children with plates of fried rice.