Two Degrees Down.... One to Go.....

Congratulations to myself. Not very often do I toot my own horn, but I’m going to take a moment to do so. 

I’m done.  That’s right, I’ve finished my Masters.  It’s been a long journey and it’s a bittersweet feeling to be done.

A bit of background on myself—In 2007, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I got my Bachelor’s degree in Zoology.  At the time of commencement, I had just been rejected to vet school the first time around yet had just landed a job at the University (something that I later learned is quite difficult to do).  I started looking for opportunities to improve my application.  With the job at the University came free tuition—I began taking courses here and there to boost my GPA (no direction in sight—just courses I found ‘interesting.’  If you ever have that opportunity to explore for free, I highly recommend it). 

Flash back to the year before graduation—I had attended the OVMA’s annual conference.  That’s when I met Dr. Hoet and learned about the Masters in Public Health Veterinary Public Health program.  I found it fascinating but was in the state of mind that “I’ll be accepted to vet school, so this isn’t really for me.”

So in ’07, when I was scrambling to figure out what to do with my life until next application round for vet school, I applied to the MPH-VPH program.  Intriguing? Yes.  Did I see myself working in public health (or even know what public health even was)?  No.  Did I anticipate that I would enjoy the courses as much as I did?  No.

I was accepted and started working toward my Masters part-time (because, let’s face it, going part time and not having to take out loans was more attractive than quitting my job and going in debt... again).  I’m not proud to admit that I went in this program strictly because it was padding to my vet school resume—but that mindset changed after my first quarter and I realized that a career geared toward veterinary public health is where I very well may end up.

I completed coursework spring of last year and finally wrapped up my final project for my Masters this spring.

I’ve enjoyed the experiences I’ve had and connections I’ve made along my journey to get degree #2.  I had some amazing professors that continually challenged me, was afforded the opportunity to spend the H1N1 outbreak working at a health department, got to be on-site for a demonstration by the Columbus Bomb Squad, and attended trainings regarding Agroterrorism.  Overall I am thankful for the opportunity to pursue this degree and feel that the learning experiences I have had over the past few years have better prepared me for vet school this fall (not to mention that I will have a heck of a leg up when it comes to epidemiology, zoonotic diseases and all other facets of public health that we will learn about in vet school).