Grace Regier is a rising junior majoring in animal science and pursuing the pre-vet track. This year, she is spending her weekends working as a test barn intern for the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission.
Since February, she’s been gaining hands-on experience with racehorses at tracks across Nebraska. She began the internship at Fonner Park in Grand Island, continued at Legacy Downs in Lincoln, and is finishing at Harrah’s in Columbus.
She travels with the team to races, assisting the veterinary technician with blood draws and other sample collections for drug testing. She also packages the samples, works with horsemen to complete paperwork, and shadows state veterinarians during pre-race vet checks.
“What I love most about this internship is the opportunity to learn more about the horse racing industry and equine medicine. I don’t have a lot of prior horse experience, so this has been extremely educational for me,” said Grace. “All of the veterinarians, vet techs, test barn staff, and investigators are so helpful and eagerly answer all of my questions.”
Grace discovered this opportunity through promotional posters and email newsletters from the UNL Animal Science Department. Eager to strengthen her skills in equine veterinarian medicine, she turned to Career Services for guidance.
“I found the Job and Internship Search Guide to be extremely helpful when building my resume to apply for this internship. I also pulled possible interview questions from it when I was preparing for the interview,” Grace said. “I definitely recommend these resources to other students when preparing to apply for an internship! I felt confident in my ability to share my qualifications and eagerness to be accepted into this position.”
On campus, Grace shares her skills with peers by serving as a CASNR Peer Career Coach. For the past two years, she has helped fellow students polish their résumés, cover letters, job search profiles and more. She’s also an active member of the Animal Welfare Judging Team and the Pre-Vet Club at UNL.
This fall, she’ll expand her campus involvement even further, stepping into leadership roles as a Salt Company Citygroup leader and an Animal Science Ambassador. She hopes to stay close to home after graduation, even as she pursues her ambitious career plans.
“My future career goal is to become a mixed animal veterinarian in Nebraska!” said Grace.
Get connected with career-building opportunities like Grace’s at careers.unl.edu!
