With 125 new and animated veterinary students set loose in the library on the first day of orientation, mishearing the answers to get-to-know-you questions about names, expected animal focus and hometowns could be expected.

“Swinesboro?” asked Montana Pell, a student from New Jersey, in a query not out of the question at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine — situated in the nation’s third-largest pork-producing state after all.

“No, Swansboro,” answered Megan Barnes, an Oregon-native-now-resident of the North Carolina coastal town, as their tablemates laughed.

Excitement was riding in the passenger seat as members of the Class of 2029 began the first day of their four-year journey to DVM and put all of their dreams into drive. 

The students, who ranged in age from 19 to 38 when admitted, represent 14 states, Puerto Rico and four countries. They make up NC State’s second class of 125 veterinary students since the General Assembly increased the approved class size from 100 in late 2023. It’s also the second class to experience the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s new and innovative curriculum.

North Carolina law requires that 80 percent of the members of each veterinary class be state residents, and the 101 residents in the Class of 2029 represent 36 counties throughout the state. Four of the students are active military or veterans.

After three days of introductions, information and team-building exercises interspersed with sessions on understanding NC State community values, developing helpful study habits and prioritizing mental health, students started class Monday.

Most veterinarians-to-be arrive at school with a strong sense of what type of medicine they want to pursue, whether it be small animal, exotic animal, equine or another, but early on the first day of orientation Dr. Lysa Posner, associate dean of academic affairs, encouraged the students to keep their minds open. 

“You are going to study to be scientists and clinicians and veterinarians and have a whole bunch of other opportunities that you didn’t even know existed,” Posner said. “Those of you who say, ‘I know exactly what I want to do,’ the world is really big with different ideas, so try them all on.”

Too many life-changing experiences and world-class mentors await at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine to keep blinders on, she said, before also addressing the imposter syndrome many of accomplished students nonetheless sometimes feel.

“None of you are here by accident,” she said. “You all bring something important. You all can do this. That doesn’t mean it’s not scary, but I’m just going to keep reminding you, you have earned your seat here. Sit in it, be scared in it, but don’t let it inhibit you from doing what you really want to do. We are so delighted that we get to be on this journey with you.”

Putting Progress Over Perfection

Listening to 125 exceptional people throughout their three introductory days to life as a veterinary student offers a glimpse into the next generation of doctors.

At the first community values session, Dr. April Kedrowicz, an associate professor at NC State who holds a Ph.D. in communication, asked the students to decide whether 30 attributes — such as integrity, self-awareness, community responsibility — were essential, desirable, less relevant or irrelevant to a veterinarian.

The discussions at more than 20 tables of four or five students each were thoughtful and deep.

“Institutional pride” is a slippery slope, because you don’t want to blindly follow, a student said.

At several tables, “efficiency” warranted a pause.

“You don’t want to be so efficient that you don’t take your time,” said Darrow Goff of Boone, North Carolina. “I’d rather be safe than efficient.” At his table, everyone agreed that “integrity” is at the top of all other essential attributes.

Risk tolerance? Self-awareness? Those are things you grow into, one student said. The relevance of a lot of the values depends on how you define them, another said, adding that none is inherently “bad.”

At an ice cream social at the end of the first day, Marianela Solano-Alejo from Franklinton, North Carolina, Julianna Lott from Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and Maryjane Burleson from Marion, North Carolina, talked about what drew them to the veterinary field. 

Solano-Alejo said she likes that veterinarians get to be advocates for animals, humans and the environment, all at once. Burleson said she is most interested in conservation, maybe wildlife medicine, although NC State’s wide range of potential career paths is one reason she chose the college.

“I want to do everything,” Burleson said. “I want to spend a little bit of time doing every single thing. That’s one thing I really liked about NC State is that, by the curriculum, they talked about how you do everything, and that really appealed to me.”

Lott applied to and was admitted to several veterinary colleges but chose NC State primarily because of the research emphasis she saw on the social media accounts of upperclass members and alumni.

“And on the admitted students day, I just felt the community here felt the strongest,” said Lott, who visited other campuses. “My undergrad was a small liberal arts college, and even though this is a much bigger school, I got a strong sense of that community feel here.”

Having grown up fostering dogs and cats in a low-income rural area of Pennsylvania, Lott said she hopes to practice veterinary medicine in a similar area.

“Since 2016 my family and I have fostered and found homes for over 130 dogs through Pawfect Match Rescue and Rehabilitation.”

“I enjoyed being able to advocate for our foster animals, care for their health,” she said. “I like general practice, but it’s just nice to see how you can adapt and serve the community and really work one on one with clients who might not be able to afford the best pet care. Being able to give back to my community would be nice.”

Having a Growth Mindset

Orientation Day Two brought a session with Kedrowicz on how to prioritize progress over perfectionism and to focus on mastery rather than performance, with students getting to score themselves on a fixed vs. growth mindset assessment. 

“You have a lot to learn to become a veterinarian,” Kedrowicz said. “Having a growth mindset puts imposter syndrome at bay. Always put the word ‘yet’ at the end. If you tell yourself, ‘I don’t know how to do this,’ then say ‘yet.’ You don’t know how to do this yet.”

Asked to share with their tablemates where they fell on the mindset continuum, Passion Locklear of Maxton, North Carolina, said she had undergraduate organic chemistry primarily to thank for her unequivocal growth mindset. 

“I was not about to give up on myself,” she said, as a student who had had to take the course twice congratulated her for passing. “I told myself, ‘I don’t care what it takes. I am going to pass this class. I can learn this.’”

The greater the effort, they all agreed, the sweeter the success.

First up on Orientation Day Three was an introduction to the anatomy lab, where the new students will spend a great number of hours their first year. 

“When you walk through that door, you need to think ‘safety’ before you even think ‘anatomy,’” said Dr. Mathew Gerard, teaching professor of veterinary anatomy at NC State, before he demonstrated in great detail how to hold the surgical tools, including how to insert a blade into the scalpel.

If it feels awkward, it should, Dr. Stacie Gallenstein said, adding that they shouldn’t worry because they’d be pros in no time.

At one table, a student asked what Dr. Gerard meant by “hold it like a pencil.” Pencil grip used to be fairly uniform among U.S. students, but now most students hold pencils however they like — another generation gap now noted.

At the end of orientation, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2029 received its bright, Wolfpack-red scrubs in a short ceremony.

“As veterinary professionals, your patients will never speak their needs aloud to you, and that makes your role uniquely challenging and uniquely vital,” said Dr. Katie Sheats, associate dean and director of Professional Education and Admissions. “These scrubs are a reminder of the trust placed in you and the integrity that you must carry into every exam room, barn, farm, shelter or surgical suite you step into.”

Feel not only pride but purpose, she told them. “You’ll wear them through successes and struggles, and they will come to carry your story.”

And the Wolfpack red won’t be just for four years, said Dr. Kate Meurs, Randall B. Terry Jr. dean of the college.

“Those four years will be 30 or 40,” she said. “You will always be part of us.”