Animal science majors have created a club on campus specifically for students looking to become veterinarians.
Kimery Hankins, sophomore animal science major from Abilene, saw that there wasn’t really a club just for pre-vet majors and decided to talk to Dr. Ed Brokaw, chair of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, about establishing a new club.
“The pre-vet majors didn’t really have anything just for them,” Hankins said. “We are part of the agriculture club, but that is really just for any animal science major, not specifically for pre-vet.”
A subgroup of the Agricultural and Environmental Science Club, the pre-vet club is for science majors who are interested in veterinary medicine and hope to attend to veterinary school after their undergraduate studies.
Students will be able to interact with one another, build connections with the veterinarian community and have bigger opportunities.
“Possible shadowing and internship opportunities that we really never had before would be easier as a group,” Hankins said.
Dr. Dale Hembree, local veterinarian and adjunct professor in the agriculture department, will serve as advisor for the club. He said he is planning on having members be part of the Feral Cat Initiative. Students will assist in making sure the cats are healthy while also taking them to a nearby veterinarian to get spayed or neutered.
Members will also get the chance to meet and talk with other veterinarians from Abilene and around the state.
“Once a month we will have a meeting and have local veterinarians come in and talk to the students,” Hembree said. “Students can get a lot of information on what happens on a typical day-to-day procedure at a vet clinic and get a little more background.”
Their next meeting will be next month, and Dr. Russell Ueckert, president of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, will be the guest speaker.
“He’ll come down and talk to the students about state politics of being a veterinarians and other info,” Hembree said.
Non-majors are encouraged to join but must first join the Agricultural and Environmental Science club to be considered a member.
