LADY OCELOT

My Story

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to become a veterinarian. When I was in high school, I started shadowing my pet’s veterinarian to see if it was actually the profession I wanted to pursue and after doing that for a while, I couldn’t see myself pursuing another profession. Because Puerto Rico doesn’t have a vet school, I would have to move abroad. During college, I started getting a little scared and insecure about having to move abroad to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. I decided to pursue a degree in biomedical sciences and work towards pursuing a degree in human medicine after. During my third year of college, I did a veterinary microbiology internship in the United States and realized that I could do this, I could move abroad and pursue my dream. After that, I worked towards completing all the requirements and save money to apply to veterinary school.

My Struggles

My first year applying to veterinary school, I got several interviews and got wait listed at Purdue. Unfortunately, I didn’t get accepted into a veterinary medicine program. After that, I continued working as a veterinary assistant back at home, pursued a veterinary summer internship, and took several animal science and nutrition classes online in order to become a better candidate for my next time applying. I re-applied the year after and was accepted at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. My time in vet school was not easy either. The first year was very hard, missing my family, friends, and trying to adjust to a different place and weather on top of the very demanding veterinary curriculum. I struggled with depression and anxiety. The next years were not easy either. Fortunately, I found support from amazing people like Dr. San Miguel (aka Pink Phoenix) to help me through the tough times.