George Hansen '23Veterinary Medicine
Name: George Hansen
Graduation Year: 2023
Major: Biology Minor: Public Health
Story: Growing up on Long Island, NY I have always had a love for science. It was always my favorite subject. I was always excited walking into every science class throughout middle and high school. When it was my time for college I knew I would major in biology. Before arriving at college I took a three-year gap in education to play hockey, another love of mine. During that time I was improving my hockey skills to play college hockey. Which led me to GAC. During that time I was also trying to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
One day I was conversing with my mother and she suggested that I consider become a Veterinarian. When she said that it made sense to me. Growing up there were always several pets in the house. Living at home I helped my mother take care of our fish, hamsters, rabbits, turtles, horses, cats, and dogs. My house was kind of a zoo but I loved it. My mom and I would take care of the stray cats in the neighborhood. Always making sure they had food and water. It was one of my favorite things we did/do. After having that idea in my head I had to see if I would really like the veterinary field, so I shadowed a veterinarian. I fell in love right away. Seeing everyone help the animals I knew I wanted to do that for the rest of my life.
When I got to Gustavus I became a student athlete which was amazing but hard. My time management skill was tested to an extreme. I wouldn’t trade a second of time here on the hill. My first year I had no idea what classes or what I needed to do to get into veterinary school. So I reached out to the president of the pre-vet club and was given the four-year plan prerequisite requirements and was told to follow it to a “T”. That was one of the most helpful pieces of advice I got here at Gustavus. During my time at Gustavus, I was able to do research in Microbiology looking into a specific bacteria antibiotic resistance, and be a TA for biology labs. I then joined the pre-vet club and Tri-Beta and there was so much help at the tip of my fingers. I got help from a lot of people throughout my time at Gustavus.
During my summers, was the time I had to get my clinic hours and train for the upcoming hockey season. Each summer I stayed in Michigan where I played junior hockey. The summer between my junior and senior years I got an internship at an emergency vet clinic and fell in love with vet med even more. I also shadowed at general practice clinics during my free time. The next summer I went back to that same ER clinic and got even more experience. The doctors there trusted me and allowed me to srub in on almost all of their surgeries. This was when I knew I wanted to be a small animal surgeon. During my free time that summer I shadowed at an equine clinic and a swine clinic. It was a lot of hard work and grinding to get everything I needed to apply and get into veterinary school.
Top Five Activities/Experiences: (in no particular order)
1. Men’s Varsity Ice Hockey
2. President Tri-Beta
3. Research in Microbiology studying Antibiotic Resistance
4. Teaching Assistant in Biology Labs
5. Shadowing/Working experience in Veterinary Clinics
Advice:
1. Every time you shadow or work at a Vet clinic. Write down what you do and what you have seen. Vet school applications want to know it all. They want to see you know what it takes to work in this field and have well-rounded experiences with all species of animals. The key is to focus on what part of veterinary medicine you want to work in and have the most hours in that area.
2. Never give up. Everyone that wants to work in the medical field has had this dream for a long time. Just because one class isn’t going the way you want it. That doesn’t mean you won’t get into the graduate school you want to attend. Push through, everything will work out.
3. If you don’t know, ask someone. Everyone at GAC is more than willing to help you. Workers, alumni, professors, and students. They have all been in your shoes and will have some sort of advice for you. Everyone will help you, so reach out and have someone help. Remember it’s okay to get help, we all need it sometimes.
Future Plans:
I will be attending Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, starting in the fall of 2023. After I plan to do an internship/residency to specialize and become Board Certified in Small Animal Surgery.