The Finale

Since today is the last class of ANSC 298, I feel that my last post should be a reflection of this past semester. I think that I am leaving this semester with much more clarity than I had coming into it. At the beginning of this semester, I was still considering veterinary school as an option for me. I now realize that it is not something for me, both for my life plans and personal goals and financial reasons. I am still teetering on the idea of a master's degree or graduate school for a phD, but I am still not completely sure. I got an email yesterday from one of Dr. Cardoso's graduate students with an opportunity for me to receive my ANSC 398 credit with them next semester doing research, so I am very excited to start that! I do not know the details of the work I will be doing, but it will be with dairy cattle. Thankfully, that will allow me to see early on if research is something I like. I am still not sure what is going on in Dr. Johnson's lab since I asked her very early on in the year to help with her research, but I am glad I found another aspect/breed I like also. I do regret not getting experience this semester, but it seemed like it just wasn't in the cards. I think that without reaching out as much as I did this semester, I would not have been as confident with my newfound decisions and plans that I made for my future. For now, I would say that my plan is to keep up with my school work, keep getting on the Dean's List, keep up with my James Scholar program, and try to find a job after graduation that isn't office work and pays well. If that doesn't happen, I will return to school and get my master's degree. At least for now, I have never felt more confident with my plans for myself. I don't think that I am limiting myself or selling myself short, I am just planning for my best interests and preparing myself to be flexible when it comes to finding a job. Things may change like they always do, so maybe my plans are not set in stone, but it is a step in the right direction for the rest of my life!

Same Ol' Same Ol'

I haven't had very much going on that is new and interesting this past week. I am planning on seeing the ACES career center the week we come back from Thanksgiving break (if it is not too hectic). I just want to talk about career possibilities so I can answer someone to my best ability when they ask me what I want to do after graduation. It is so weird to think that after next semester I am halfway done! It's exciting yet scary. I really want to do my ANSC 398 next semester, and I had posted about how I talked to Dr. Cardoso about doing it at the dairy farm with his graduate students. I want to get my 398 credit so I can be more exposed to possible research project ideas because I have to do one and present it at exploreACES or the symposium. I sent him a follow up email with my availability the day after we had met and discussed it, but didn't get a response. I figured two weeks was a good waiting time, so I just sent him another one (yes, I am that annoying student). Hopefully he responds this time or his email may be subject to an unexpected ambush.

AgEd

I am shocked by the amount of people who know nothing about animal agriculture. I thought that at least people had some sort of idea of what it entails, but turns out that mostly people just have no clue what we do, why we do it, or how we do it. Today I had someone tell me they're vegan because they don't like the idea of eating eggs that could have developed into a chick. She wasn't kidding, she really thought that we eat fertilized eggs. She had absolutely no clue what to say when I told her that none of the eggs we eat are fertilized and it's against the FDA regulations to even sell fertilized eggs for consumption. These types of things really bother me because I know animal agriculture has a bad rep. There is really just a huge absence of knowledge when it comes to where our food comes from. I think this is due largely to the media, but also to an absence of agricultural education. I don't really know of a high school anywhere by me that educates their students on production practices, and I really would like to see this changed. I know I would love to work hands on with animals, but I also feel very passionately about teaching aspects of production to people who would otherwise have no exposure to it and therefore, no knowledge about it. I have considered the AgEd Masters program and am thinking more and more about it lately. I know that this career is in high demand, so it is just another career choice I may aim for!

Alas!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel! Seeing as this is my eighth week in a row of having at least one difficult exam, I could really use a pick me up. Someone must be watching over my poor soul because today two good things happened.

1- I sent Dr. Cardoso a follow up email from our meeting with my availability to work with the grad students and my specific interests. Our meeting went very well, he was really informative and gave me three options to complete my ANSC 398 credit under him. I chose the research assistant option because I love doing hands on work. I also want to see what research is all about while I'm an undergrad, so this is the perfect opportunity. This also gives me experience and knowledge to be able to eventually create my own research project for James Scholars.

2- In ANSC 298 today we had a guest speaker who worked for a company called AgriKing and she actually does research for them. The best part- SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO GET A HIGHER LEVEL DEGREE. Whew, I was excited about that one. We're always told that there are legitimate jobs out there that you can get after graduation, but we've never really been given tangible evidence of this, at least that's what I think. So it was very refreshing to find that someone has found a reliable, interesting, dynamic, and well-paying job after graduation without even having to take organic chemistry as an undergraduate.

Classes

I am officially registered for classes this upcoming spring! I followed through with my decision to not take organic chemistry this semester, and I feel surprisingly okay about it! I am taking ANSC 205, 223, 224, ACE 100, and CPSC 116. This leaves me at 17 credit hours. I tried to fit in a 400 level animal science class, but they all conflicted with my required classes or would leave me with no time to eat during the day. I'll have to try again for fall of my junior year because I need 4 400 level classes for my James Scholar completion. I am also hoping on getting my ANSC 398 credit next semester by helping out with research on a farm. Since I haven't heard anything from Dr. Johnson's graduate students about when they will finally start their project, I contacted Dr. Cardoso at the dairy farm to see if I could potentially help out with research there. I have a meeting with him today after my ASNC 103 lab, so hopefully it goes well!

After Graduation

The day to pick classes is approaching so fast!! I have been trying to make time to make a visit to the ACES Career Center but with all my midterms lately, I haven't had time. Regardless, if I can't make it before Nov 4th, I will still go because I feel like they are the only ones capable of answering my broad career questions. In the meantime, like how I said before, I am taking classes to explore my interests further. When I talk about not planning to further my education past a bachelor's at the moment, I almost feel a little embarrassed. I know I am smart enough to do it, and I feel a little guilty to not take advantage of the skills and knowledge I have been blessed with. However, right now with the way my cards are playing out, I think I will be capable of finding a successful job after graduation. Also, I plan on trying my hardest to graduate as a James Scholar and that would be so helpful in verifying my credibility and hard-work when applying to jobs.

Registration... It's so close!

I got my time ticket to register for classes the other day, and since I am a James scholar, I register November 4th. Ah! After my initial freak out, hyperventilation, my rant to my roommate about how I have no clue where I'm going with my life, and a half a package of cookies later... I think I have it figured out. I am going to wait to take organic chemistry until junior or senior year, to see where my interests take me. I'd hate to put myself through all of the work and not even need it in the end. I want to spend this time figuring out what it is that really intrigues me. There are so many things I could potentially do and species I could work with, so I'd rather get a sense of direction before taking another time-consuming class. It is hard to narrow down my choices at this point in time because I do not know enough about each facet of animal science to know if I truly don't like it yet. I really like the idea of hands-on work. I definitely do not want to be cooped up in a lab or office all day because I know I'll go crazy and get cabin fever. I also really like the idea of animal agriculture tied into environmental sciences. I remember in ANSC 101 talking about how we use cattle to restore over-farmed land, the methane production of cattle, and different things like that. I am wanting to take more classes involving these types of things, but I am not so sure which classes correlate with it. I'll have to ask one of my professors to further explain to me the opportunities in this field and the classes I could take. I think by keeping my mind open and learning more about what may interest me rather than going right into organic chemistry is the best decision for me right now.

Academic Plans

For me, I think that this year is the year I finally decide on if I would like to go to veterinary school or not. The more I think about it, and the more I am educated on other options, the less I want to pursue it. I think that when I was younger and knew that I wanted to work with animals, that I kind of interpreted this as being a veterinarian because I didn't know about any other careers in the animal science field. Actually, the animal science 'field' was nonexistent to me, I basically never gave thought to the fact that not everyone working with animals directly is a veterinarian. So here I am now, contemplating my options. I believe to have three. One- go to graduate school. Two- pursue a Master's degree. Three- find a job with my Bachelor's degree. Ideally, like I have mentioned before in this blog, I would love to have a job right out of college. But, I am also not sure how plausible this is. Perhaps I can speak to someone at the Career Center for clarification. If I decide to go on with my schooling, I am afraid that I will have to choose to take organic chemistry and biochemistry. Although these are not required for a Bachelor's in Animal Science, during ANSC 298 today Dr. Hurley told us that we should consider taking those because they will help with a lot of research based things. I had felt such a relief when I X'ed out vet school and therefore did not have to take those classes, but now that I might have to take them, I am so unsure. Ah! I want to prepare myself for my future, but I also do not want to work myself to the bone.

Lab Fun

Yesterday I went to the poultry farm for my second round. The first time we went, I was freaking out so badly because I've never had experience with chickens, and quite frankly they just scare me. Last time, we had to catch chickens in cages and in pens while they were running around everywhere and weigh them. This week someone started a rumor that Chet beheaded the chickens at the second poultry lab. Needless to say, I was super scared to go to the second lab. After going through it though, I thought it was a really cool lab! I definitely learned a lot and saw some really cool stuff. We learned how to vaccinate with the wing web stab technique and how to blood test them. I tend to get kind of panicky when I do stuff like that, and I'm not sure why. I've passed out 3 times before so I just kind of panic that it'll happen again and then I freak myself out worse than I already am. But we were incident free, and now I'm confident that I can do it again no problem, without freaking myself out. At the end we got to dissect them, which was also really neat. Some chickens had reproductive problems and had eggs stuck inside them actually rotting! One also was so covered with cancer, there wasn't a tissue that didn't have tumors on it. And we got to see a lot of ovarian cysts, which are directly relatable to human health because it looks the exact same and research done with chicken ovarian cysts has changed the way we treat humans with them. This lab I was so determined to prove myself because everyone thinks that (even though it's not true) anyone who feels woozy when doing this stuff is unfit to work with animals. But I succeeded! And I have some cool stories to tell!

Blurry Clarity

Today in my ANSC 298 class we talked about the option of getting your Master's Degree after a Bachelor's. I hadn't really considered it before today, I think it mostly just escaped me as an option. But the more I think about it, the more I am considering it, especially for someone like me who wants to do hands-on work. Also, I have always said that I don't want school to get in the way of my life. I don't want to get out of school at age 26 and have over $80,000 to pay off in student loans, I want to have a family, and start my life relatively soon. I think that this is why I struggle with my decisions for schooling so much. However, a Master's Degree really isn't that much more time, and I think that if it would make a significant difference in my career's pay I should totally do it. Listening to Cassie talk was interesting because she does so much hands-on work, which definitely is a perk. Also, she said she got married over the summer, so this reassures me that this further schooling won't get in the way of life. Obviously I am not planning on doing anything like that as soon as she did, but it was good to know that these types of students have actual lives beyond their schooling. One big factor for me, though, is cost and the availability of grants and a stipend. I'm not quite sure how available these grants are, let alone the fact that I am still unsure of what kinds of animals I would enjoy working with most. I know I have time to decide, but I am the type of person who likes to have a set plan, or at least an idea of what I want to do before I go ahead and do whatever. I think I should also work on this, because no matter what their major, the majority of people just like me have no clue what they want to do either. I just can't help but be scared by this unknowing! I'll leave it at that... But I am left today with yet again more options, but also more insight into what the best option may be.

The Older, the Wiser

I hate saying this because I am, after all, just a sophomore. But, the freshman in animal science are so naive. I know I was basically like this last year, but I just find it so hard to believe how differently I view things after just a short year of schooling. I had a conversation with three freshman in the animal science program and they all wanted to be veterinarians. I asked if they had anything else in mind and they said no because there weren't any jobs for people who didn't want to be a vet. What?? They were also all vegetarians or vegans, except one. I asked why and they said because of animal welfare reasons and the way they are kept in housing was terrible. Again, what?? I'm absolutely in awe of how much one year of schooling can really change you. Instantly I wanted to refute their argument, but instead I just told them to wait until their second semester classes sink in. It is crazy to think that last year I was dead set on vet school and even may have had some of their same opinions about animal welfare, and this year I am throwing vet school out of the equation, focusing on animal agriculture, and want to preach to first year students.

College Life

I've come to the realization that no matter what major you have, I guess you're always going to feel overwhelmed. Fall is the time people apartment search, sign leases, have midterms, get into the full swing of club meetings and extracurriculars. It never ends! That being said, I unfortunately did not get to go to the career fair this week. I went last year and it was actually pretty neat seeing all those companies there, but this year I felt like it came up so quickly and I didn't have time to prepare myself the way I would have liked to. I'm not sure the best way to go about approaching what I need to know about the field of animal science before I go job searching, but what I do know is this- I need to figure it out! Most people are in the same position as me I guess, but since I came here wanting to be a veterinarian, I'm used to having my mind set and already made up. Now I'm faced with all these choices and decisions and nothing to go off of. I don't know a specific species I'd like to work with, I don't know what companies hire people with a bachelor's degree, I don't know the median salary of any job except a veterinarian, etc. What I do know is this: I want to work with animals, I would like my work to be somewhat hands-on, and I would not like a repetitive, draining job. Is that too hard to ask??

More Confusion

I was talking to some of my friends today and they asked me what I wanted to do with my animal science degree. "So, do you want to become a veterinarian then?" If I had a dime for the amount of times I've been asked that, I'd be rich. Sometimes I nod my head and just say yes, but others I try to explain how I'm not really sure but there are a lot of opportunities in the animal field and I just am trying to get a grasp on a few things I may really enjoy. The second response leaves them confused, but rightly so, because I am confused as well! I'm not quite sure how to find out what types of jobs are available with my bachelors, or if I should stick around and go to grad school to get a higher-paying job. I think I may try to make an appointment with the career center to try to figure out options. I've talked to professors of course but they know jobs mostly in their field, and I'd like to get an outsider's opinion for once.

Career Fair

There's a career fair this week, and I'm strongly considering going to it. I want to get a good idea of what kinds of jobs are out there for me if I don't go to vet school. For me, I get nervous in business social settings, and I'm afraid I will have no clue to ask them. I think I might actually google search good elevator speeches and questions to ask a company, even if I'm not interested in getting a job yet. I want to be aware of what is available for me. It feels like every day I find out about another job in the animal science field and it makes me even more excited to graduate knowing that there are more jobs out there waiting to be filled. However, I want to be sure that these jobs will still be in existence when I graduate. I also want to be sure these jobs will be fulfilling and reliable. Getting these things answered would make me feel a whole lot better about my decisions!

Busy Busy Busy

Sometimes, being a science major, I find myself scrambling for time to complete assignments, studying, and extracurriculars. After a week like last week, I'm still catching my breath! Three exams and a quiz later, I can finally breathe! Since I get so stressed out from just that, I think about how vet school would be in comparison and I'm thinking it'd probably be worse! Which is another deterrent from continuing my education for a DVM. My logic now is, if my head isn't in the game, then I probably shouldn't play the dang game.

Research

So, like I said before, I am trying to get more into the field of research as an undergraduate. I think research would be an awesome way to get my feet wet in the 'mysterious' land of graduate school, and help me really apply the things that I learn in my studies to real life. I just had a meeting with two of Dr. Johnson's graduate students, and they sounded like they could use my help. They have a few projects running, but are too early on in the process to have any data or anything to analyze yet. Maybe later on as I work my way up, they'll have something for me to do with that project. It seems pretty interesting, it's about different housing systems for sows. They also have one project that they had all the data for, they just need to analyze it. This project has to do with piglets and their behavior. They fed a sow probiotics during her gestation period, and are now trying to see what beneficial affects it had on the piglets. Since next week they are busy, I will start being trained in two weeks! I will just be watching recorded video footage of the piglets, and being trained on what exactly to look for while I watch them. The more I work my way up, the more hands-on things I will get to experience, so I'm excited for that!

Another Chat With a Professor

For ANSC 298, one of our out-of-class assignments is to interview an animal science professor and ask them questions about their profession, how they got there, what advice they have for students like us, and what kinds of research they're currently doing. I chose to meet with Dr. Koelkebeck because I remembered him from his unit in my ANSC 100 class I took freshman year. I'm really glad I chose him because he made me feel a lot better about my situation. I asked how he got to where he is today, and he told me by luck. He is a poultry professor here, but graduated college with a B.S in general agriculture. Agricultural economics was his first plan, but it didn't work out like he wanted. A friend knew of a job opening as a technician at a poultry job, so he interviewed and got the job. After about six months, his boss asked him if he wanted to take a few more classes for a masters, so he did. He then got his PhD and applied for jobs in academia. Since I am in the dilemma of whether after I get my B.S in animal science if I should find a job, go to graduate school, or apply to vet school, it was really nice to talk to someone who also didn't know what they wanted exactly before graduation. I asked him what advice he has for someone like myself in this kind of situation and he said the main thing is to keep my options open. I guess he is right, because that obviously worked out really well for him! With all my tests coming up this next week (3 tests and a quiz...), I panic even when I think about my future from added stress. I found some ease after talking to him, since he was basically in the same situation. He thought about veterinary school, going into ag economics, or cattle and beef production. Finally I feel some sweet relief (which is definitely a temporary feeling), about my lack of decision-making. The thing I found that was most interesting about Dr. K was that he first took a job in Hawaii after he got his PhD! How crazy to think that animal sciences, specifically poultry, could take you to such an awesome tropical location! It just goes to show that animal agriculture is truly everywhere, which also makes me feel better about job opportunities and things related to that. Finally, some feeling of tranquility during this stressful time of studying!

Attack of the Sheep

Today I had my sheep lab for my ANSC 103 class, and I actually learned a lot! We handled the sheep today, learned how to 'catch' them, and how to judge their body types. I've never had to catch a sheep before, it was definitely an experience. I had to basically clothesline my sheep to get ahold of it to control its head. Then, moving it was another feat because my sheep was being as uncooperative as possible. I tried pushing where its tail was but got no response, so the student assistants told me to shove it in the behind with my knee. I shoved it so hard that the sheep's legs gave out and I had it sitting on my lap. After some struggling it finally moved with me and I was successful! Before the individual work though, we had groups of 3 or 4 move sheep into the main room so we could better study their bodies. The first group accidentally let its sheep go, and it nearly escaped the building. The group made a barricade around the sheep, and unfortunately for one of the poor girls in the group, the sheep freaked out and tried to jump away but ended up nailing the girl in the face and knocked her to the ground! She had a big cut under her eye and had to leave for a little, so I was kind of nervous to move my group's sheep next. Needless to say, it went fine, but it was just another reminder that working with animals does always have some potential danger involved. However, this does not deter me like it would most. I still love my major and I love the idea of working with farm animals. It is all so new to me, and every lab I feel more and more confident that my (not yet finalized) decision to go to graduate school instead of veterinary school is the right choice for me. Next time at the sheep farm we will shear them, which will be pretty interesting! I'm excited to better learn the different husbandry tasks for all of these animals.

Working With Farm Animals

What a wonderful class... Tuesday I had my first lab at the dairy farm and it was really cool! I wasn't sure what to really expect, and since it was the first day, I was planning on doing a whole lot of sitting there. Needless to say, it was really fun! I've never really had experience with cows, and it is kind of intimidating working with something so large. However, my professor Dr. Hurley did a good job of not really giving us time to worry about things that may go wrong, and we got to working with the cows right away. Throughout the lab, we hand milked the cows, tested the milk for mastitis with a strip cup test, and learned how to handle and walk with them. I had never milked a cow before by hand, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was and how good I actually was at it! As if I didn't already think I was born in the wrong era, this is yet again another reason that supports my intuition... When it was time to walk the cows, I got kind of nervous since I'm so small and they are all so large. The boy who handed my cow off to me told me she was pretty riled up, so that was reassuring... I tried to get her to start walking but she was not having it. Finally I pulled with all of my might and she gave in, but they sure as heck don't appreciate being ushered around and kept trying to stop and go into their stalls. It is a lot easier if you go first, before she gets irritated and tired of the routine. I'm really glad U of I decided to make a class like this part of the animal science curriculum because otherwise I would've never had this experience to work with this variety of animals. I really do love all the exposure to animal agriculture, and it is definitely toying with my decisions and plans for the future! I go to the sheep farm this Tuesday, so I'm sure I will have another story soon! :)

The Medical Field

A degree in Animal Science can take you pretty much anywhere. That can be an awesome thing, or if you're like myself, that can also be a pretty confusing thing. I thought I knew what I wanted to do before coming to U of I- I wanted to become a veterinarian. I was so set on becoming a veterinarian, I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. However, during my freshman year required classes, I was intrigued by animal agriculture, and the many different routes animal science can take you on, aside from veterinary medicine. Growing up in the suburbs, I was never exposed to any of these opportunities. To me, the only thing I could do with my degree was use it to go on and become a vet. Now, I am faced with all of these other opportunities and doors to open, and I am overwhelmed! I want to make the right choice and SOON because I want to spend as much time as I can getting experience and educated on what will be most useful to me later on in my life. Ugh, I hope who ever may be reading this is understanding my frustration! For now though, I decided to try to get some general exposure to medicine. To do this, I am volunteering at Carle Hospital this semester on Thursdays! I had my (5 and a half hour long..) orientation today, and was originally assigned to the surgical wing. However, due to a scheduling conflict, I had to be transferred to digestive health (boo). I may not get to see as cool of things here, but I still think it'll be interesting. Next semester I can always transfer departments too! The neat thing about anatomy is that it is basically the same from human to animal, with of course a few minor differences. I'm excited to be getting my foot in the door with medicine through volunteering at Carle, and maybe that will lead to more opportunities and confusion about what to do next, the world may never know... On the bright side, it is better to have so many opportunities and chances to gain experience than to have none at all. :)

Talk to Your Professors!

Since I am now a sophomore, I decided this year that I should take advantage of all the awesome opportunities that the University of Illinois has to offer. One of those being the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research. I really enjoyed the class ANSC 101 last year, so I took it upon myself to email Dr. Johnson to see if we could meet up and talk about her research and if she had any need for me in her lab. I met with her yesterday afternoon and I am so glad I did! She has so many different projects she and her graduate students are pursuing, and each one of them is different. She said I could be trained to do some observation and testing of samples, and then be integrated more into what the research is really about. I think that this is a great opportunity for me to get a feel for what research is, and ultimately if graduate school is something I would like to do post-grauation. I have to send her my availability and meet with her grad students to see where they need me, so I'll be posting more about what goes on with this! :) Looking back now, my biggest regret from freshman year is not getting to know my professors. I always thought they were so busy and wouldn't be willing to help a random student. I now realize this year that they are so easy to talk to and if you have any questions or would like to meet with them, just shoot them an email. It is so simple and you'll be glad you did! They are all (or mostly all) very willing to help and nice! Also, next year I will have to choose (I think we get to pick?) a new academic advisor, and they may not know me so well since last year I didn't talk to any of them. To make up for this, I am trying to start a nice foundation this year to broaden my horizons and to make more options for myself in the future.

First Blog Post... EVER

My James Scholar Honors project for this semester's class of ANSC 298 is to make a blog of my journey as an animal science student. Basically, I will post a couple times a week, spilling my brain's thoughts and confusions into this blog for current and future animal science students to read and hopefully connect with! If I do it right, I think that this project can be really cool and be a useful tool to work out my animal science endeavors. Stay tuned for what's to come this sophomore year!