Cagney Ehlers, a senior majoring in Biological Sciences and Pre-Veterinary Medicine with a minor in Spanish, has gained a wealth of career knowledge and experience during her time at UNL.
She plans on attending vet school this fall to become a veterinarian through the UNL-ISU Professional Program of Veterinary Medicine. To prepare for her future career, Ehlers sought out and achieved many opportunities at clinics around town to grow her skills. She also met with a Career Coach to help with planning out her goals and where she wanted to go post-graduation.
“When I was looking for help with my schedules or planning for what life may be like after college (i.e. vet school and gaining experiences), I often went to a Career Coach at CASNR or to my advisors. So, I would highly recommend it to students, especially first-years still figuring out the ropes of online scheduling or those wanting to get a new experience under their belt,” said Ehlers.
After some of these meetings and some research, Cagney applied for an internship at the prestigious Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, KY. She was accepted for a 6-month internship as an Ambulatory Veterinary Intern!
“Hagyard is an equine veterinary hospital in the heart of Thoroughbred horse farms, so that is what most of their clientele consists of. My job involved riding around to many of these farms and assisting my doctor with several different reproductive procedures. Some of the tasks we did included ultrasounds for pregnancy and lung health, foal care, emergency care, dental care, administering vaccinations, restraining mares and foals, and other things involving the horse breeding process,” said Ehlers. “I enjoyed all of it so much! It has also inspired me to want to focus on reproductive care for vet school, and I sure did learn greatly about some of the things it takes to be an equine veterinarian!”
Outside of her internships and studies, Cagney is heavily involved on campus and has proven herself as a great leader to other students serving as a Peer Mentor for the Pre-Vet and Eco-Leaders Learning Communities.
“I wanted to offer academic, social, and career resources for these students because I had more knowledge about pre-vet life and I was also in the pre-veterinary program. As a returning mentor this year, I decided to try out being a mentor for a different Learning Community, Eco-Leaders, and it’s been great! I have a strong passion for ecology and environmental sustainability, so I wanted to guide them in their college journey. Also, as a senior now, I am very happy to give as much knowledge and support to my first-year students as possible. Planning awesome events and really getting to know the students closely has been the most rewarding thing I’ve gotten out of both of these Learning Communities,” said Ehlers.
Cagney has also been involved with the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program, the UNL Pre-Vet Club, the Spanish Club, and the Basenji Club of America.
Do you want to find internship opportunities and set yourself up for future career success? Try meeting with your Career Coach! http://careers.unl.edu/connect/
