Ring deRosset, Susan, authorThompson, Deborah, advisorDoe, Sue, advisorHolmquist-Johnson, Helen, committee member2021-01-112023-01-082020https://hdl.handle.net/10217/219541The veterinary profession, we First-Years were told during orientation, is the white-collar demographic with the highest addiction, depression, divorce, and suicide rates in the country. Despite these warnings and all the heavy baggage I was coming in with—as an older student and an ecofeminist Nature gal with limited resources, a spinal disease, and unresolved grief and hauntings—I gave vet school my best shot: It was my Big Dream. Part One of this book-length memoir, my creative nonfiction thesis, covers personal events in 1998, from the January acceptance letter from Colorado State University and the summer before classes started, through fifteen weeks of rigorous academics, with little to no sleep, all the way to our first final exams in December. Like most authors of contemporary veterinary memoirs, including Loretta Gage, Allen Schoen, and Suzy Fincham-Gray, I also share where my passion for animals and the ambition to become a doctor probably originated; the vet-clinic work, volunteer hours, and GPAs we needed to rack up before we even applied; our first euthanasia experiences as well as inspiring scenes with mentor-veterinarians; and how intense vet school interviews and taking out around a hundred-thousand dollars of federal student loans can be. I also begin to explore the complicated relationship between humans and nonhuman animals from inside the veterinary institution.born digitalmasters thesesengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.memoirTextAccess is limited to the Colorado State University community only.