Experiences

Submitted by Shea O'Sullivan, University of Missouri

If my name hasn’t already given it away, I am incredibly Irish. My mom’s mom is from

County Kildare, her dad was a first generation american from an Irish parent, and my dad is from

County Kerry. As such, being Irish is a big part of who I am.

My family is extremely proud of my siblings and I, as we are the first generation on both

sides of our family to be college educated. Both my dad and grandma grew up very poor;

education was unfortunately not the top priority and neither finished high school in favor of

working to support themselves and their families. My mom was only able to complete one

semester of college before she had to leave due to lack of funds.

Our family has always had a deep connection to animals due to our past; my dad quite

literally used a donkey and a cart to get around as a kid and they raised dogs to use for hunting

and racing for income. My grandma grew up in similar circumstances, and our family has had a

host of animals since I can remember. I’m not only able to make my family proud by attending

both undergrad and professional school, but I get to further that by becoming a person committed

to caring for what they value most: animals. While my family might not understand the inner

workings of college education because they were not able to experience it themselves, they can

understand animals and I get to share that with them.

When we were younger, we used to visit Ireland a lot, but due to financial hardship, none

of us had been back for over ten years. This past summer, I was fortunate enough to go back with

my sister to visit our dad’s family. Being back where he grew up reinvigorated my love and

passion for animals and reminded me of where it all started. My family grew their passion and

love for animals in Ireland and they spread it all the way to the US, and eventually, to me. I am

so fortunate that I get to spend a lifetime honoring my family and my heritage in a unique way,

by becoming a veterinarian.