Updated WAMC

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wildmamathornberry

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Hi all,

I’ve had a lot of things change since my last WAMC post, so if you saw that one pls ignore 😂

Here’s my updated stats:

Age: 27
Home state: CA
Resident state: AZ
Schools interested in: Ohio State, Illinois, Davis

Cumulative GPA: 3.0
science GPA: 2.68
last 45: my last 45 are still in progress because I’m essentially taking all of my science courses right now, I’m currently taking 28 units and will be taking another 24 between the spring and summer semester

Any degrees achieved

Associate’s degree in Studio Art
Bachelor’s degree in Visual & Public Art
(Graduating in 2023) Masters in Microbiology & Cell Science

GRE results: Not taken

Veterinary Experience:
-vet tech/assistant at a small animal gp: 500hrs I still work here so I’ll have twice as much by the time I need to submit to VMCAS
-vet tech/assistant at a small animal private practice: 650hrs
-volunteer/shadow at another small animal private practice: 80hrs

Animal Experience:

-Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary
Position: Volunteer
Specialty: reptiles/exotics
Total hrs: 65

-Home Away From Home (family-owned pet boarding/doggy day care/groomer)
Position: manager/kennel tech
Specialty: Small animal/exotic
Total hrs: 2000+

-Petsmart (3 different locations)
Position: Pet care specialist
Specialty: small animals/exotics/fish
Total hrs: 3000+

-Monterey Bay Aquarium
Position: Volunteer via CSUMB
Specialty: aquatics
Total hrs: 50+

-Monterey County SPCA
Position: Volunteer via CSUMB
Specialty: dog/cat
Total hrs: 20

-Helen Woodward Animal Center (Critter Camp)
Position: volunteer counselor/husbandry
Specialty: small animal/large animal/exotics
Total hrs: 400

-Seaworld Sleep-away Camp
Position: volunteer counselor/husbandry
Specialty: aquatics
Total hrs: 120

-San Diego Zoo (Summer Camp)
Position: volunteer counselor/husbandry
Specialty: wildlife/zoo animals
Total hrs: 120

Research Experience:

-Lory Park Zoo, South Africa
Position: Research Fellowship (virtual)
Specialty: wildlife/animal behavior/conservation
Total hrs: 50

-Zooniverse
Position: virtual research volunteer
Specialty: biology/conservation/history
Total hrs: 20

-I also contributed about 15 hours being interviewed for a brand marketing research project, not sure how much this counts


Awards/scholarships:
-Dean’s list one semester
-certificate in Captive Animal Behavior Monitoring & Enrichment

Extracurriculars:

Girl Scouts of America (through the school I worked in at the time)
Position: Troop leader
Total hrs: 100

-Monterey Museum of Art
Position: curatorial intern
Total hrs: 96

-Eden Housing Community
Position: Art Instructor (volunteer)
Total hrs: 25

-2017 Media Culture Symposium, CSUMB
Position: Presenter

-Awake: Investigation of Self & Identity, CSUMB (this was a graduation group show where my artwork was featured and I was the speaker for the event)
Position: Featured artist/presenter/speaker

-YouthBuild Charter’s Art in Education Symposium
Position: featured artist/guest speaker

-Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery
Position: featured artist

-Print, My Spiritual Smile (2019)
Position: Book editor, cover designer

-Print, Your Mind Is Magic (2021)
Position: book editor, cover designer

-Creative Collaboration Club
-Black Collegians Club

Employment:

-Antech Diagnostic Inc
Position: parasitology lab aide
Specialty: veterinary parasitology
Total hrs: 50 so far but I just started working here last week and I work 5 days a week so I should have at least 500 by the summer


-Spears & Co. Essentials (not sure if I should include this, this is my own small shop where I make and sell custom resin artwork
Position: Sole proprietor
Total hrs: 2500

-Fellows Luxury Group (real estate company in Los Angeles)
Position: graphic designer
Total hrs: 400

-KIPP Academy of Opportunity
Position: Art Instructor, cooking instructor
Total hrs: 1000


-Roux (family owned french restaurant)
Position: Busser/Hostess
Total hrs: 900


-PF Chang’s China Bistro
Position: Busser/Hostess
Total hrs: 600


-Target
Position: seasonal cashier
Total hrs: 350

Personal Statement:
I’ll probably talk about the obstacles I had to overcome in my undergrad days including temporary homelessness and an unexpected pregnancy in my last semester, and how I tried really hard to pursue an art career because I thought I had something to prove to my family/community. I can also talk about the incredibly heavy emotional weight Black families often put on their first gen loved ones who are in college and how their academic experiences indirectly serve as a representative of our entire community even if we are individuals. Basically I want it to be clear in my essay that I know what pressure looks like and feels like and how it’s important to me as a Black woman and as a mother of Black children now that I create space for more people like me looking at the field of vet med and wishing it had better representation.

Specific concerns:

I guess my biggest concern aside from the low GPA is the fact that I have a lot of Ws on my transcripts and attended a lot of schools. Even right now I’m enrolled at three different schools in two different states. My career and education this far has also been very random and all over the place and I’m not sure how important that is.
I also want it to be clear that while I enjoy working in a hospital setting, pathology and microbiology are where I feel the most connected and ultimately where I would like to specialize. It also bugs me a little that working in the parasitology lab isn’t technically animal or vet experience because we don’t have live animals or a DVM on site, but I still consider it one of my most valuable experiences because it gives me first hand experience in diagnostic lab work in vet med, which is most important **to me**.

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Specific concerns:

I guess my biggest concern aside from the low GPA is the fact that I have a lot of Ws on my transcripts and attended a lot of schools. Even right now I’m enrolled at three different schools in two different states. My career and education this far has also been very random and all over the place and I’m not sure how important that is.
I also want it to be clear that while I enjoy working in a hospital setting, pathology and microbiology are where I feel the most connected and ultimately where I would like to specialize. It also bugs me a little that working in the parasitology lab isn’t technically animal or vet experience because we don’t have live animals or a DVM on site, but I still consider it one of my most valuable experiences because it gives me first hand experience in diagnostic lab work in vet med, which is most important **to me**.

Hey, I think your background is pretty impressive. Your involvement in the arts will definitely stand out.
The GPA is tough, but that's kinda where I was at, and I got in on my second attempt after I boosted it a bit.
I was an arts student in undergrad - theatre and switched to journalism by graduation. I had a lower GPA the first time I applied in 2017 - 3.0, lots of Cs in the sciences and was already 25 back then. I was on track to fail organic chem as I was applying, so I withdrew from that class and ghosted the schools I was applying to -- I got rejected. But, I got into Ohio and Tufts the second time I applied, just last year. I did pull my gpa up to a 3.4 but Ohio seemed much more interested in my interests in pathology than in expressing concerns about grades.

My education and career were also super random, but I think the people interviewing me actually were impressed by that. I had eight different schools on my VMCAS and over 20 random jobs; being a barista, a youth sports coach, server, did sound for theater etc. I did the bulk of my science pre-reqs at a local state school. I did a bunch of stuff online at other schools. They thought it was more interesting/resourceful, but I'm guessing this may depend on the people reviewing your application. I think you're on the right track with your personal statement; the format of these has changed since I applied, but absolutely. Everything you shared and posted is evidence of how you can handle pressure across a broad variety of fields.

For the parasitology lab, it may be worth calling the VMCAS people and asking how to classify it, or email the schools directly. I worked at a clin path lab for a little over a year and they had me put it as animal experience even though I never touched animals while I was there. I'm not sure if they've changed their definitions this round, but I think it's worth asking.

And I think you can include your shop. I included freelance writing which technically fell under being an independent business.

I'm not sure how helpful this is but figured I'd chime in.
 
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Thanks for this reply! It actually is very helpful. I’m also taking a majority of my classes online right now, which is partially why I sought out the lab tech job because it was a paid position that allowed me to get experience and actually practice some of the things I’m studying in class, especially chemistry and microbiology. I know they’ll see the experience wherever it lands on the application, but I still can’t shake the disappointment if I’m not able to categorize it as veterinary or animal experience.
 
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