Student Experience

Jul 9, 2026

From Dairy Farms Across the Land, Kate Bessette Reports

The Southeast was our final destination for dairy farm focus groups. The weather in Florida and Georgia felt surprisingly familiar with heat and humidity (not too different from North Carolina!), and thankfully we managed to avoid any encounters with the gators! One of my favorite parts of the trip was driving beneath the towering oak…

A green graphic with two pictures. At left, three women, one with a stethoscope and one holding a cat. At right, two orange and white kittens.

Jul 7, 2026

From the Eastern Band of Cherokee, Kristen Folk Reports

Over a recent weekend, I traveled to Cherokee, North Carolina, for four days to serve the community through the Christian Veterinary Mission. Alongside a team of 20 veterinarians, technicians, students and volunteers, we provided veterinary care and shared love with the Cherokee. I enjoyed the scenic landscape of Western North Carolina and met up with…

Isabella Black in dark clothes with a bandana on her head kneels in a pasture full of calves.

Jun 25, 2026

From Across the Midwest’s Farms, Isabella Black Reports

Similar to the great author James Herriot, I am working this summer with all creatures, great and small! I fittingly began my jam-packed summer at Emerywood Veterinary Hospital, my hometown small-animal practice where I worked during high school and where my passion for animals was fostered by both the solo veterinarian and the wonderful staff.…

Jun 22, 2026

From an Aquatic Animal Odyssey, Sydney MacDonald Reports

This month, I jumped headfirst back into my research at Big Rock Landing in Morehead City, North Carolina! I am working to prove that tournament-caught fish can be used for scientific data, giving scientific value to every fish that lands on the dock. I began my fish research in conjunction with the Big Rock Blue…

Madison Henderson in blue hat and dark jacket sits on top of a mountain in Peru with a dog.

Jun 17, 2026

From the USDA Zoonotic and Emerging Diseases Research Unit, Madison Henderson Reports

Before starting my fellowship, I kicked off my summer by traveling to Peru. This trip was not inherently veterinary-related, but cultural competence is vital in veterinary medicine, and I learned an immensely valuable lesson in an area that has been heavily shaped by colonial history while fiercely maintaining its indigenous Incan roots. Cultural competence directly…

A girl in a coat and red hat sits in a backseat of a car with her younger sister wearing red books and a hat with white trim.

May 13, 2026

A Sister Denied Leads to a Legacy Created and Dreams Supported

Long-time music educator Kathy Backherms could not have composed a better coda to her cherished sister’s life than the magical moment she met NC State veterinary student Isla Farrow. First, the prelude. Mary Frances Backherms was 8 years older than Kathy and had spent her childhood bandaging stuffed animals, caring for birds, hamsters, guinea pigs,…

Members of the NC State Class of 2026 take the veterinarian's oath as they stand in black gowns and black caps with their right hands raised.

May 11, 2026

‘We Conquered Everything’: 108 New Veterinarians Take on the World

In fall 2022, more than 100 graduates from 41 different academic institutions showed up at first-year veterinary student orientation on the campus of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, swatting at their nervous anticipation and putting a toe on the starting line. Four years of studying, stressing, surgeries and stitches, of laughing, crying and…

A graphic with two pictures: The first is a picture of 11 veterinary students standing in front of or sitting on a dog statue while one student holds the leash of a brown dog. The second is a picture of Hannah Dion wearing a dark shirt stands in an exam room with a kitten under her chin.

May 8, 2026

Class of 2026: From Nerves to NAVLE, Four Years of Questions Finally Answered

Biting my nails, jumping at every notification, calling my parents and throwing myself into back-to-back overnight shifts just to stay busy — I spent every moment hoping the acceptance email would finally come. But in the quiet moments, the questions crept in.What if I wasn’t good enough?What if everything I had worked for still wasn’t…

A graphic with three pictures: One of Anna Jones wearing a white coat as she stands between her father in a white coat and her mother in a white coat. One picture is of Anna's parents putting her white coat on her at the White Coat Ceremony. The last is a picture of Anna Jones in front of the Capitol in Washington, DC

May 7, 2026

Class of 2026: So Grateful My Parents Made Their Ceiling My Floor

As my classmates and I neared graduation, I contemplated a way that I could best express gratitude to the people who have wholeheartedly dedicated a great deal to my getting to this point. My parents, Charles and Dawn Jones, are veterinarians in Charlotte, and since the beginning, their only desire for me in vet school…

May 6, 2026

Class of 2026: Homesickness, Culture Shock, Then a Purpose Realized

I didn’t always know I wanted to be a veterinarian. Growing up, I was immersed in the arts — I performed in plays, sang in choir and took lessons in singing, dance and guitar. Surrounded by artists in my family, I assumed that was the path my life would take. Even when I started my…