I hated school when I was younger. As someone with a learning disability, school was incredibly hard. I even questioned if I wanted to go to college after high school, if I would finish school at all. It wasn’t until I started to get passionate about choosing a career that made me think about my future. My senior year of high school I participated in a work study program and it was then that I realized without a college degree I wouldn’t get very far in life. I was always very passionate about animals. I grew up visiting my Grandfather’s farm, and because my Mom was a farmer’s daughter, our house was always filled with a variety of pets. So after volunteering at a veterinary clinic in high school, as well as taking a class trip to Busch Gardens and working behind the scenes with the zookeepers, I decided I wanted to have a career working with animals. I was particularly interested in working with wildlife and conservation. So after I graduated high school in 2011, I decided to enroll at my local community college and take some general education courses and eventually apply to the veterinary technology program at the school.
After a year and a half of taking general education requirements, I applied to the veterinary technology program. I was one of the 40 students accepted out of the 200+ applicants in the fall of 2013. I believe my volunteer work at the SPCA gave me an edge against other applicants. After two years of hard work, two internships at different veterinary clinics, and countless hours later, I received my associates degree in veterinary technology in May, 2015. Out of the 40 students originally accepted, only 15 of us graduated. My attitude over those three and a half years towards school completely changed. I actually enjoyed going to class, I loved learning about topics I was passionate about, and seeing people around me drop out from the pressure of the program only made me feel more confident and proud when I walked across stage and received my diploma last year.
I worked in a veterinary hospital for a few months after graduation. I put everything I learned to use. I drew blood, I took x-rays, I assisted in surgery, I performed dentals, I placed IVs, I did intakes, I spoke with clients, I counted pills, and I gave animals lot’s of love! However, I had put my dreams of working with wildlife on the back burner. I had always planned on using my vet tech degree as a stepping stone, where I would eventually transfer to a four year school, and have the medical training that would help me with a future career. So although I loved working as a vet tech, I had to reflect and decide if I really wanted to do that forever. After much debate, I realized, if I don’t go back to school now, I won’t ever. So I applied to the University of New England as the Animal Behavior degree really appealed to me. So after taking a year off, I decided to come back to school and was accepted this fall, 2016. It’s been a hard adjustment getting back into doing homework and going to class after not doing it for so long. However, I’ve quickly adjusted and am doing well in all my classes. One of the hardest things I’ve found is that I am one of the older students. I’m 24 and living in a dorm with other people for the first time, so that has been a huge adjustment. It’s also hard to relate to some of the younger first year students in some of my classes as they are six years younger than me. Overall though, the challenge has been fun. Some days when the stress is really high I question why I ever thought it was a good idea to come back to school, but then I remember how much I love to learn, and how far I’ve come and all I’ve accomplished and that makes it all worth it. I tell myself “I’ve succeeded in college before, and I will do it again!” Being a student is a huge part of who I am, as it has been my job for most of my life. Education is so important to me and I am happy I made the choice to come back to school, and that I chose UNE!
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I think WordPress is a great site to start blogging on, although there is a little bit of learning to it. WordPress has some great tutorials, and so far I haven’t’ run across anything that I couldn’t figure out by googling. I think my biggest piece of advice is to find something you are passionate about! You need to have passion for what you are writing about. Definitely try to narrow it down to a specific topic, although you can easily blog about anything you want, some people use blogs as an online diary or personal journal. It’s all about what you find interesting and want to talk about. Also, edit as much as possible! Peer editing can be helpful too. You can easily start on wordpress for free, and eventually upgrade if you find you want more features. Best of luck blogging!
Please check out my new blog entitled Mild and Wild, which is linked below!
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Hello everyone!
Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. I never expected an article I wrote for a class project on identity would have such an impact! After much consideration on what I want my future career to look like, I came to the conclusion that my ultimate dream job would be a wildlife journalist. Writing is something I have always been so passionate about, and combing that love with my love for animals would be the perfect career! Conservation through creativity has become my new motto. I actually started a wildlife blog called Mild and Wild (I will link below!) Please check it out when you get a chance! Thank you for all the supportive comments, they have really inspired me.
-Lauren
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO CHECK OUT MILD AND WILD!
https://mildnwild.com