When kids are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” one of the most popular answers is a veterinarian. It’s a kid’s dream job, after all; the only responsibility, in a kid’s mind, as a vet, is to help and hang out with different animals all day.
As it turns out, there’s a lot more to being a vet than just wanting to hang out with different animals. It’s a long, thorough process, and it can be confusing for new college students to know what exactly to do. That’s where the Pre-Vet Club at Fresno State can help.
The club’s main goal is to help pre-vet majors get experience working alongside veterinarians and animals, while also guiding them through the process of applying to veterinary school to make it less stressful.
As part of the Pre-Vet club, students get exposure to the wider veterinary community within Fresno. Treasurer Zoe Jolly remarked how the club not only shared different opportunities for her to get hours of veterinary experience, but it also provided a space for her to make a lot of friends.
“Maybe you’ll meet somebody whose interest is livestock only, or niche things like wildlife medicine,” Jolly said. “It’s cool to be in a community with people who share your same interests.”
Jolly, alongside her fellow officers, Vice President Hannah Garrity and Secretary Izabella Lopez, all shared similar reasons for why they pursued leadership roles. After they all had a great experience being a part of the club their first year, they were motivated to get involved on a bigger level and help more people enjoy their same experiences.
“I’m from a really small town, so every organization I was a part of I had some kind of leadership role and I really liked being involved on a bigger level,” Garrity said. “I think that transferred over when I came here, having last year as a member was really great, and when election time came around I wanted to be a part of that on a bigger level to help more people get the same experience.”
While the club is a bit of a learning experience, to be able to better connect with newer members and previous members currently in vet school makes it well worth it.
“I’ve been able to connect with so many underclassmen who are going to be able to follow me in my future endeavours, we’ve gotten to know people older than us who are in vet school, it’s great for connections,” Lopez said.
A lot of the activities offered by the Pre-Vet club are wetlabs. The wetlabs give pre-vet students a walk-through on a particular skill that they would need going into a veterinary career. These skills can range from learning how to restrain dogs and cats, to procedures like catheterization, intubation and even suture techniques.
These activities are available to active members of the club, who are members who have paid their dues and completed their two hours of community service for the semester at different units on Fresno State’s campus, or at an approved animal shelter.
Another activity for members is the Pet of the Month competition. Lopez shared that each month, students can submit a picture and description of their pet, and members then vote on a winner to get a prize. Since pets are often an inspiration for pre-vet students, this activity is a fun way for students to get to know each other better.
The club also hosts a vaccine and microchip clinic every year towards the end of April, with this year’s to be announced soon on the club’s Instagram.
While the community gets vaccines and microchips, active members of the club are able to work the event while supervised by faculty advisor and veterinarian Dr. Gayle O’Bannon. This lets the students work on their customer service skills as they distribute the vaccines and microchips, and practice the basics like restraints and nail trimming.
While the club is mostly beneficial for students who are currently pre-vet majors, it isn’t exclusive — students of any major can join. In fact, Garrity mentioned that a number of members started out in different majors, but eventually switched to pre-vet after spending more time in the club.
If students are curious to see what it would be like to be a pre-vet major, or if they just enjoy working with animals, the meetings of the Pre-Vet club are open to all.
Those interested in seeing what the Pre-Vet club has to offer can look at their Instagram to stay updated on meeting information, or they can email the club directly.
