Pet project: Junior Leaders job shadow veterinary medicine

FRANKLIN LIVING MARCH/APRIL 2018— For many children who are animal-lovers, becoming a veterinarian one day can seem like the height of career achievement. In Franklin County, some students get the opportunity to experience a taste of that career through job shadowing.

Russellville Animal Clinic often hosts student job shadowers, whether for a one-day assignment or a multi-week arrangement. In early February the clinic hosted two students from the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Junior Leadership Program, Anna Gunderman and Kaylea Knoblock.

As part of an extensive curriculum that includes a range of networking, service hours, community involvement and personal development endeavors, each Junior Leader gets the opportunity to take a peek into the fast-approaching adult world with a half day of job shadowing a professional in their field of interest or a related field.

Gunderman, of Phil Campbell High School, and Knoblock, of Red Bay High School, spent the morning of Groundhog Day observing Dr. Emily Beason at Russellville Animal Clinic.

“When I was in high school, I did work-based learning. Every day from 1-3 p.m. I would work in a veterinary clinic,” Beason said. It was that key part of her education that convinced Beason to go into veterinary medicine – and motivated her to pay it forward by hosting job shadowers.

Beason has demonstrated veterinary practices for larger groups of students for longer durations, like HOSA groups, but in just one morning Gunderman and Knoblock got to observe two cat neuters and a routine dental procedure.

“They got to learn about anesthesia, what pre-medication means, what inducing an animal to go to sleep means,” Beason said. “They got to see that and how it can relate to human medicine.”

Gunderman said the job shadowing experience was a valuable component of the Junior Leadership Program. “I think it’s a good idea because it shows us what things are actually like. It was different than what I thought” – a revelation she can easily correlate to her chosen field of nursing, which is likely to also diverge from her expectations.

“It was pretty cool. My favorite part was the dental,” Knoblock said. She said job shadowing also helped confirm for her that human medicine is where her heart truly lies. “I once wanted to be a vet, but I get upset very easily with animals. Job shadowing showed me that (veterinary medicine) is not bad at all, but I still don’t know if I would consider it.”

The two Junior Leaders are both professed animal lovers. Gunderman’s pets include Bruno, a miniature pinscher; Belle, a beagle; and three cats, Fluffy, Bagheera and Coconut. Knoblock’s pets are Willis, a Maltese/Lhasa Apso, and a cat named Jinx.

“They’re like humans. They have their own personalities,” Knoblock said.

Beason, a graduate of Mississippi State and the University of Tennessee–Martin, is married to Caleb Beason, an agriculture teacher at Haleyville.

Following high school, Knoblock said she hopes to receive an ROTC scholarship to the University of Kentucky; alternatively, she will go into the Army. Gunderman aims to attend Northwest-Shoals Community and then the University of North Alabama.