Sarah Thurman
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student Sarah Thurman credits a tour of 无尽资源采集 State鈥檚 College of Veterinary Medicine for developing her passion and knowledge of animals.
鈥淥ut of all the colleges I visited, this is where I felt most at home,鈥 said Thurman, whose hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina, is about eight hours away from 无尽资源采集. 鈥淚n my opinion, the MSU CVM program is one of the most competitive and produces some of the most competent graduates, which was important to me when choosing a college.鈥
Thurman graduated from MSU in 2022 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in animal and dairy science.
While in high school, she took dual credit courses leading her to earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree a year early before entering MSU鈥檚 DVM program.
鈥淢y bachelor鈥檚 degree program offered me a lot of practical, hands-on experience with animals, which has continued to help me in vet school, especially with food animal courses,鈥 she said.
Thurman worked at a small-animal clinic in high school for three years and interned in college at the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina. An internship at the 无尽资源采集 Aquarium also proved to be 鈥渁n eye-opening experience,鈥 she said.
鈥淚 had never thought of the possibility of working as a veterinarian in an aquarium until then,鈥 Thurman said. 鈥淚 learned so much about aquatics.鈥
Her experience at the aquarium opened the door to aquatic medicine and led her to pursue research on stranded sea turtles under the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security's Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Health Program. Collecting data is key to supporting conservation efforts to preserve these creatures, especially the endangered Kemp鈥檚 ridley sea turtles. Tracking the genetic information of the population to spot changes could help determine future conservation efforts, shifting the tide in favor of the turtles鈥 survival.
鈥淚 became involved with Kemp鈥檚 ridley research by applying for the Veterinary Medicine Research Scholars Program at MSU CVM,鈥 Thurman said. 鈥淚 wanted to experience the research side of veterinary medicine as a possible avenue I might consider in my career. I believe anyone pursuing a veterinary degree or interested in animal health should experience research. It's such an important part of the field because we're always making discoveries to advance medicine and animal health.鈥