dvm360 is pleased to introduce the 2023 class of Veterinary Heroes. Nominated by their peers and selected for recognition by a committee of esteemed veterinary professionals, 15 recipients were chosen from various roles and specialties in the veterinary industry in this third annual program.
The Veterinary Heroes recognition program, supported by category sponsor Rising Star Thrive Pet Healthcare, celebrates the achievements of exceptional veterinary professionals who advance the field and make a difference in animal care. These winners will be honored on Thursday August 24, 2023, during a Fetch dvm360 conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
Make sure you sign up for Fetch Kansas City if it is not done yet !
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Rising Star Winner (Veterinary Student): Nia Powell
This category is sponsored by Thrive Pet Healthcare
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It’s not as if Nia Powell, a fourth-year veterinary student at the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, had an epiphany or some sort of life event that had pushed her to want to become a veterinarian. She always knew it.
“I wish I had a cool story, but I always wanted to have it and I don’t know where it came from,” Powell said. “I didn’t have any pets growing up. I’ve never taken my pet to the vet and thought, “I want to be like them.” I think I always had this passion for animals, and as I got older and started doing things in the field, I really loved the medicine behind it. I like solving puzzles. I love working with animals, but also with people and (having) that interaction with customers.
Powell explained that while there wasn’t an aha moment, she was inspired to pursue veterinary medicine after being a fan of the TV show. Veterinary life, featuring 3 black veterinarians working at a hospital in Houston, Texas. For Powell, these men became role models because she was able to see people who looked like her owning a hospital and operating on pets.
With her career path mapped out in mind, Powell attended a veterinary camp, where she was able to observe procedures and hear from veterinary students. Her experience at camp convinced her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. However, during her undergraduate studies, she began to question whether this was truly her calling.
“I had a quarter-life crisis and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life anymore and I was like, ‘I don’t know (if) I want to go to vet school because I really like it or (because it’s) the only thing I ever said (I wanted to do), and that’s what people expect of me. So I took 2 years off and moved to Charlotte,” Powell explained.
She began working as a veterinary technician and in higher education as a substitute in case veterinary school was no longer a good fit for her. She nevertheless applied to veterinary and graduate schools. Once she was accepted into veterinary school, she realized it was what she wanted to do.
Powell’s Veterinary Heroes nominator wrote that she is an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and LGBTQ+ and recently gave a presentation on the topic of DEI at a large veterinary conference. “Nia has championed minorities, gender equality and inclusion initiatives,” her nominator wrote. “She is a hero to so many in the social media space for her constant advocacy for (DEI) both within and outside of the profession.”
As she enters her final year of veterinary school, Powell wanted to share this advice with current or future veterinary students: “I think a lot of times people will say, ‘Oh, (veterinary school) is hard.’ And be a veterinarian East hard… But even on my hardest days, I still love it. So I always encourage people not to listen to negativity. And if you really want to be in this field and this is what you want to do, you can do it. Yes, it’s hard. But it’s great on the other side.