AUBURN, ALABAMA (RFD News) — From 4-H to the farm, one Alabama veterinary student is building a path toward a career in animal health.
Kaleigh Backstrom says her early involvement in 4-H helped set her on that path and sparked her interest in veterinary medicine.
“I realized that there was a lot I wanted to know about when things go wrong, and your animals get sick. I wanted to know how to fix it.”
Now a student at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, Backstrom says the program has played a key role in her development.
“Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine is wonderful. You can tell the professors care. They want you to learn and have the best foot forward and be a wonderful veterinarian.”
Assistant Clinical Professor Dr. Jenna Stockler says she has seen that growth firsthand.
“I have watched her growth exponentially over a two-year time period with her involvement in our Production Animal Medicine Club, as well as our Bovine Practitioners Club. She has taken a huge role in both of those.”
Production animal veterinarians make up about five percent of the total U.S. veterinary workforce.
