4-H Delivers

UC Davis Veterinary Students Inspire Youth

UC Davis Veterinary Students Inspire Youth

The Veterinary Student Outreach (VSO) Club at UC Davis consists of veterinary students who do educational outreach. Specifically, VSO members design interactive presentations for local schools and community-based programs. Each Spring VSO sponsors Future Day, an all-day event on the UC Davis campus designed to stimulate interest in veterinary medicine through hands-on labs and engaging talks.

On April 23, 2011 more than 70 high school students from all over California attended this year’s Future Day. For the past several years, 4-H members from the greater Sacramento area have attended this event. Future Day is free to participants and provides opportunities for 4-H members to further their knowledge about veterinary and animal science complementing their projects.

Future Day is the largest event of the Veterinary Student Outreach Club with twenty veterinary students volunteering their time and expertise. This year, the day kicked off with an introductory talk outlining different paths to veterinary school with tips from current veterinary students. The youth participants then spent the day rotating through the various interactive activities. The labs included, among others, practicing CPR on a canine model, wildlife and fish exhibits and learning about the bones of different animals.

The ongoing success of Future Day exhibits the commitment of UC Davis veterinary students to reach out to high school-aged youth that are considering veterinary medicine as a career path. Participating in Future Day gives these youth a unique opportunity to engage one-on-one with current veterinary students, learn about diverse career opportunities of veterinarians, and to see the facilities at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Please keep an eye out for next year’s Future Day! For more information about this event and the Veterinary Student Outreach Club please visit https://sites.google.com/site/ucdavisvso/home.

By Lori Gil, UC Davis Veterinary Student