By Ryan Otteson | Reporter
With the small pre-vet population of students at Baylor, there are limited resources to help these students learn about life in the veterinary world. However, the Pre-Vet Medical Association is a student organization that helps pre-vet students shadow, volunteer and be leaders in the Baylor and Waco community.
Greenwood Village, Colo., junior Erin Son recognizes that the small number of pre-vet students at Baylor makes it more difficult to find guidance on subjects such as applying to vet school. She said it is nice that PVMA provides more resources. While being a pre-vet student has its challenges, Son is very passionate about service, volunteering and animals.
“I work full-time as a vet assistant back at home at a small animal clinic, and I absolutely love my job,” Son said. “It is my favorite thing in the entire world.”
Son has been able to implement her heart for service as the organization’s service chair, and she has also invested time in volunteering at the Denver Animal Shelter throughout her high school years. Now, Son volunteers at the Humane Society in Waco. As the service chair, her main role is to organize events for members of the club to volunteer together.
“I think it’s such a unique and awesome realization when you realize that your actions can directly improve someone’s quality of life, even if it is an animal,” Son said.
Another PVMA member, Dallas senior Kendel Arnold, is the social chair. Her priority is to bring people out of their shell and boost member engagement. She organizes collaborations with other organizations as well. Connections within the organization are very valuable to her, and she even said she has made lifelong friends through PVMA.
“My favorite thing about the organization is making those connections with the individuals who have the same long term goal that I do, which is becoming a veterinarian and making a positive impact on the world,” Arnold said.
According to their webpage, PVMA hosts bi-monthly meetings in which speakers and medical professionals come and speak to the students in hopes to give them a better understanding about what life after college and applying to veterinary school may look like. This has attracted several students to the association, as they are beneficial and informative to students. Many pre-vet students have chosen this unique track because they have a heart for animals, and PVMA gives them a variety of experiences to explore their passions.
“I became pre-vet due to my compassion for animals and a desire to transform that compassion into an intentional action plan towards helping them,” Arnold said.
