Personal Statement examples?

When I was eleven, my neighbors owned two kittens, Cindy and Tiger. They lived outside, often visiting my family’s garage. My siblings and I played with them and grew attached. One day Cindy got into our garage without us knowing. When we opened the garage door we saw her being crushed at the top, just before she fell down. The neighbors did not pursue veterinary care, but allowed us to adopt her. Following our veterinarian’s recommendations she slowly regained the ability to feed herself, walk, and use her litter box. Ten years later, she is practically normal, with few quirks from neurological damage. It amazes me that we could help her return to functional life.

Two years ago I capitalized on my first chance to work with a vet. I shadowed at the , and observed and assisted during clinic hours. Soon I moved to the surgery area, where I assisted with surgery prep and monitoring. I learned the basics of how surgical procedures are performed, and about the particulars of doing these procedures in a shelter, given financial constraints and high volumes of surgeries every day.

Next, I volunteered at the as a surgery assistant in the community hospital. This was the most hands on experience I had in a medical setting. My main position was at the recovery table, where we would glue spay and neuter incisions, clip toenails, clean ears, give vaccines and reversal injections, microchip, and exubate patients. Occasionally we gave subcutaneous fluids. I learned to work in a fast-paced environment, balancing the care of multiple animals in various stages of recovery, feeding animals, making surgery packs, and keeping the hospital clean.

At this point I decided to expand my experiences. I had spent a couple of days at the and decided that I wanted to learn more about other species. Thus I volunteered at the Zoo last summer. I visited the hospital and witnessed an examination of a bonobo, and I observed and assisted with the husbandry care of several species. I also learned about some of the regular medical care from the keepers.

My experience interning at the hospital was one of the most influential. My main job was husbandry for the hospitalized birds, but I had opportunities to observe the veterinarians perform treatments and sometimes assist. I learned about birds, avian medicine, and zoo medicine and developed my interest in exotics. Further, I learned about avian anatomy and the intricacies of treating birds. I also came to appreciate the relationships between the hospital staff and patients. I realized that with a career in zoo medicine, I could see the same animals each day and get to know them as individuals, which I did during the time I worked at .

The desire to work with exotics led me to , where I worked as a full-time veterinary assistant over the summer. In addition to cats and dogs, has many exotics patients and is a drop-off location for injured and orphaned wildlife that are later released to local wildlife centers. My perception of private practice medicine was changed by my time working at . I thought it was boring - just a stream of wellness exams and vaccines every day. I found that we also had a lot of interesting cases and the dull days were few and far between. During the time I worked there I got more hands on experience and responsibility for the care of patients than I had previously. Many of the cases stick with me—the severely anemic puppy with hookworms that needed a blood transfusion, the cat that was bitten by a snake, the orphaned wildlife that we had to tube feed. And one case in particular, the sick stray kitten that came in at eight weeks of age with an open abscess, who I adopted four weeks later.

Today my passion is for zoo medicine, and my goals would lead me to pursue a residency in zoological medicine after graduation. Working with a variety of different species appeals to me and I am excited by the prospect of having an impact on Species Survival Plans. Dr. , who I worked with at the , has become a role model for me in terms of the direction I could see my future career going. She oversees the medical care of the aviary's residents, and developed protocols to decrease the spread of disease between the animals, and from the animals to the staff. Some academic experiences have enhanced my interest in epidemiology, an applicable concept to zoo medicine—my Ecology, Animal Behavior, and Cell Biology classes have touched on these concepts at different levels, and I look forward to learning more about them. Epidemiology acts as a chance for me to integrate my passion for writing with my career goals. A significant portion of my undergraduate career has been dedicated to honing my writing skills, and I hope to apply these skills in creating the same kinds of written protocols that Dr. creates.

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Personal Statement examples?