Faedra, Malachai, and Prince Charming

Lisa Haviland, University of Minnesota

Creative Corner, Winner

"Faedra"

"Malachai"

"Prince Charming"

Happy Cows Come from Minnesota

Entry, Creative Corner
Allison Pace, University of Minnesota

SAVMA Symposium 2015 Announced

From Conservation to Cancer

Honorable mention, Life as a Vet Student
Briana Hallman, University of Minnesota

Marine mammal trainer, zookeeper, and wildlife biologist were all careers in which I had a strong interest before I even considered veterinary medicine. While interning at a wolf research center during the summer before senior year of my undergraduate education, I realized my love of wildlife was matched by my interest in medicine. My senior year was dedicated to last-minute courses that fulfilled admission requirements for veterinary school, and I accepted my admission offer for a spot in the class of 2013 from the University of Minnesota. I intended to become a wildlife veterinarian and involve myself in the One Health Initiative through animal conservation. Once beginning veterinary school, I took advantage of extra wetlabs and lectures in wild animal and exotic medicine, volunteered with the local wildlife rehabilitation center, and even traveled to South Africa for a hands-on course in conservation medicine. I was building a resume that would make me stand out in the wildlife medical field, and I was fully prepared to move anywhere in the world to find a job in this extremely competitive area of veterinary medicine.

One day in the second semester of my second year, I was introduced to the field of veterinary oncology when I spent two hours with Minnesota’s oncology service as part of our clinical skills course. I was immediately drawn to the unexpectedly pleasant environment in the oncology office, where canine day-patients receiving treatment get to play with other patients rather than sitting in a kennel all day. The office was filled with notes, plaques, and photos from clients thanking the clinicians for the time they were given with their beloved pets. My view of the oncology service as a sad, depressing, hopeless place was extinguished, and I began to take an interest in the overall biology of cancer and the science of its therapy. This interest grew during my third year, when my official course in oncology began. Diagnosing my first mast cell tumor as a third year student on a service trip to a nearby Native American reservation gave me confidence in my clinical knowledge and increased my curiosity about neoplasms in animals. I remained passionate about animal conservation, however, so pursuing wildlife medicine persisted as my career goal, and I lined up several senior externships in that field.

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Winner, Op-Ed
Nikko Poulos, University of Minnesota

It has taken me nearly 3 decades to become comfortable as a gay man. The label, “gay,” often brings people to think about the sexual history of the word. Even the term, “sexual orientation,” makes people focus on the word “SEX!” For me, becoming comfortable with being gay meant bigger things.  I always knew I wanted a family and I knew that it was going to happen with a person of the same sex (there goes that word again).  Now, at 33, I have everything I could have hoped for. I’ve been partnered for over 10 years and in that time we’ve adopted two wonderful African American infant girls, now 3 and 5 years of age. We are a family. Surprisingly our undeniably conspicuous family has never felt conspicuous to me. We have had the luxury of living in major metropolitan areas like Chicago and Minneapolis, where there are often other families like us. Where there are people seeing, knowing and interacting with more families like us.

Beyond building a family, my life’s goal was to become a veterinarian. That became a reality last year when I started my first year of veterinary school at the University of Minnesota. The first year flew by quickly and like most first year students, my eagerness for hands on experience was a given. I’d been in the small animal field for over 10 years – as a vet tech and then as the owner of one of Chicago’s largest pet care companies, but over this time my interests in large animal grew as well. About 5 years ago we purchased 12 acres of peaceful land in Iowa. We’ve spent as many weekends as possible restoring the land and building a vacation cottage while also getting to know our little town of less than a thousand people. However, this past summer we decided to spend more time there to give meaning to the name, “summer home.”  I knew it was the perfect place to get my hands on­, and in, a cow.

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