Williamsfield FFA member Ellis Rogers assists a veterinarian with performing a femoral head ostectomy on a cat.
Picture stepping into a busy veterinary clinic, where each day brings something new and important to do. For Ellis Rogers from the Williamsfield FFA Chapter in Illinois, this is her reality. For most people, this would be a very stressful, high-pressure environment. But that’s not the case for Rogers.
“I love being a part of the organized chaos that you’d find in the environment of a veterinary clinic,” she says. “Whether it’s getting peed on at 8 a.m. by an angry cat or being elbow-deep in a cow, every day is a memorable one!”
Rogers’ Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is in the category of veterinary science. She spends her time at three different veterinary clinics and works at Niabi Zoo. Rogers chose this kind of SAE because it aligns with her future career goal of becoming a veterinarian. She says her record book serves as a way to document her clinical hours and has become one of her proudest accomplishments.
Although it hasn’t always been easy, Rogers admits that starting out, she knew almost nothing about being a veterinarian. “When I moved to assistant work, I struggled to remember all of the procedures that were needed,” she says.
However, this didn’t make Rogers shy away. Instead, she made it a priority to do research outside of her appointments, work on terminology and begin to understand the flow of the clinic. She also learned how to ask for help from her supervisors and work through issues on her own. The more she worked, the more confident she became. She now takes calls and does a lot of reception work.
“This project allowed me to grow as a person and overcome challenges as they arose,” Rogers says.
Most days, you can find Rogers keeping things clean inside the clinics. As a veterinary assistant, her job is to ensure patients are comfortable and away from anything that could cause harm. She keeps areas organized and disinfected, helps wrap surgery packs to prepare for sterilization, disinfects floors, removes all inappropriately placed hazardous items within the clinic and performs any other tasks the veterinarians ask her to do.
Through her SAE experiences, Rogers received her veterinary assistant certification from Texas A&M after achieving her goal for clinical hours. This accomplishment is a testament to her dedication and passion for veterinary science.
Ellis’s journey has just begun, but her SAE has already laid a strong foundation for her future career as a veterinarian. Her dedication, hard work and passion for animals represent the spirit of FFA, and she’ll continue making a positive impact in the world of veterinary science.
