My Day at the CDC

Kaylee Quinn - Georgia

Experiences

I was beyond overjoyed when I received my acceptance letter to vet school.  I had crossed one obstacle and could move on to the next: what did I want to focus on?  I had many diverse experiences in many different areas of veterinary medicine such as wildlife, dairy medicine, and small animal.   It was not until I started vet school that I was introduced to the idea of public health.  My interests began to grow rapidly and I started exploring the different opportunities available.  I questioned all the public health veterinarians at our career opportunities class, applied for different summer opportunities and signed up to attend A Day at CDC for Vet Students.    

I was very excited about this trip because I knew it was a full day designed to encourage careers in public health.  I remember pulling up to the CDC and thinking wow, I'm actually at the CDC!

During the day, we were able to listen to lectures, take part in a simulation exercise, meet in small groups for a career Q&A, and walk around different booths to learn more about different federal agencies. During the day we were able to tour the main campus, the Emergency Operations Center, or the CDC Museum.  The most interesting part of the day was learning what CDC offered for vet students including the epidemiology elective program, the CDC-Hubert Global Health Fellowship, and the post-graduate Epidemiology Intelligence Service.  I had heard of these programs but was not familiar with them. 

The thing I most enjoyed was spending time talking to the many professionals ranging from those working at the CDC or other federal agencies to military personnel to EIS officers. I was able to ask EIS officers’ questions and get a first hand account of their job.  I was impressed by the versatility of a public health veterinarian.  My simple understanding of it being mainly epidemiology expanded as I learned about environmental health, occupation safety and health, food safety, bioterrorism, disease outbreak, global health, and bioterrorism. 

 This day solidified my interests in public health and also taught be more about the public health infrastructure in the United States.  This experience was my turning point.  I knew that a life of small animal practice wasn’t for me.  I loved the bigger picture that the concept of one health provides.  I was also reassured about applying for the Army HPSP (Health Professionals Scholarship Program.)  I spoke with many Army veterinarians and also a few Air Force public health officers. They were very supportive of all my questions and went into details about what they had done in the army, how they ended up where they are, and what their current job description was.  I was very appreciative.  When I was chosen for the HPSP in May, I eagerly accepted.  I can see a career in public health through the US Army in my future and I have CDC to thank for that!