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.

Life as a fourth year isn't all that bad...

Andrew Martin, Illinois

Creative Corner, Entry

Mt. Baker sunset, July 31, 2014

Reflections on Second Year

Christine Mallo, University of Illinois

Life as a Vet Student, Entry

Second year, oh second year. As those of us enrolled in veterinary school understand, the type of graduate problem we have aspired our whole lives to be a part of comes as a challenge. There are up and downs, and then they are repeated over and over. Sometimes it feels like there isn’t going to be a break, which is exactly how the second year of school felt for me. It was a challenge, a struggle, and down-right hard, but at the end of the day, I can honestly say that this year has made me not only a stronger student, but a more appreciative individual as well.

Most students would agree that first year of school is the most shocking, as the format of the curriculum is new for all and adjustments must be made quickly to keep up. For me, I went into first year expecting the absolute hardest year of my life, and while it was difficult, I kept my head high and my mind focused and was proud of the grades I received.

Click to read more ...

We All Know the Old Adage...

"... Don't be the first one to fall asleep at a party."

Christine Mallo, University of Illinois

Foot in Mouth Disease, Entry

Entry, Life As A Vet Student
Kyra Berg, University of Illinois

I just recently found a tumor on my cat Shadow that was really suspicious of a vaccine-associated sarc, so he had a punch biopsy on Monday. He's never used an e-collar, so he's been struggling to get used to it these past couple days. Here is what happens when you're too nice of a mum…

"I took Shadow's e-collar off for the couple hours I was home, and while I was reading the biopsy histopathology results from the doctor, my lovely let's-make-mum-look-like-a-non -compliant-owner cat decided to rip out his staples. 

so now, my cat is totally livid and moving like a slug across my flat because I've gauzed, taped, t-shirt-wrapped, and e-collared the crap out of him. 

Life: 12, Kyra: -4

#youvegottobeabsolutelykiddingme

Here is a picture of my pouting cat.