Year 2 Reflection!

I just got back from a week-long trip in SLO where I had the opportunity to reflect and reconnect with some of the people who have been extremely influential in not only my veterinary journey, but my life as a whole.

I spent four nights at Jenn’s place and got to catch up with her. Over the years she has become family, and I am incredibly blessed to have her in my life. I also had the opportunity to participate in a Doggy Days clinic where we saw 64 animals in the span of 4 hours with one DVM and about 17 pre-vet students! This was such a fun clinic, and I am so proud of how big this program has gotten! The following morning I got to hike with the amazing Dr. Backus who took over the Doggy Days enterprise and has been doing a great job! She is one of the few Animal Science faculty at Cal Poly that I did not know well until recently, so it was great to connect and learn more about her and her path in veterinary medicine.

Cutie at Doggy Days!

I also got to connect with Tasha, another wonderful mentor and friend, over lunch on Thursday. The remainder of the week included some quality time with Dr. Spray who has continued to invest in my knowledge despite being two years removed from Cal Poly. We got to reconnect over breakfast on Thursday morning and she spent Friday afternoon taking me to Rancho San Miguel where we got to assess and ultrasound a foal and stallion with pneumonia. She has been such a blessing in my life and I would not be where I am today without her support. I also got to catch up with Rachael, who was instrumental in developing my large animal knowledge, over a fun kayaking adventure. Lastly, I got to spend a significant amount of the second half of the week with my parents and other close friends. They rented an AirBnB in Morro Bay, and we got to hike, bike, run and explore the area. I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend the first week of summer and decompress before diving back into work.

Pismo Preserve Hike with the Family!

Now time to reflect and recap the last academic year… This year has been a wild ride and was hands-down one of the most transformational years of my educational experience. I have an immense amount of gratitude for the people who were by my side through it all.

Diving into this year I knew that it was going to be busy and that I would be stretched on multiple levels. If you have been following along for a while you know that this year UC Davis SVM hosted the 2025 SAVMA Symposium which is an international conference planned by veterinary students. I had the privilege of being the Fundraising Chair which opened up countless opportunities and experiences which were outlined in more detail in this post. You can hear more about the planning process through this candid interview.

I also had the opportunity to work through an acupuncture certification with a pretty awesome cohort and amazing mentor! Balancing these other opportunities with clubs, teaching, training, Churro, personal connections and school (I guess that’s really why we are here) was great practice for the “real world” and I wouldn’t have traded any of those experiences. Throughout the past year I was able to use techniques from the leadership training at VLE and the Healer’s Art course to remain balanced and “human” through it all.  Here are a few overarching thoughts from year 2 and some things I learned.

This is truly a privilege: I was given a seat while countless other qualified applicants were denied admission. Every day that I walk through Valley Hall I am living my 6-year-old self’s dream and am one day closer to becoming Dr. Pulido. Sure, school can be hard but isn’t that the point? We are here to learn and become veterinarians. We GET to be here, no one forced us to apply, pay tuition, and show up every day. This is a PRIVILEGE.

Be a human first, and then a vet student: This year I prioritized other things just as much as school. I went to conferences, saw family, and competed in races even if there was an exam Monday morning. Learning how to balance school and life is a crucial skill for preventing burnout. I also realized that I perform just as well, if not better when I am doing these other activities and I am also becoming a more well-rounded human throughout the process. Bonus points if you do these things with other vet students and pull them away from the study dungeon. There will always be another exam to study for, and life will just keep passing by whether we like it or not so make the memories!

Cherish your mentors: I have been incredibly blessed to have mentors I also consider close friends. Spending time with them and hearing from their experiences as well as learning from them is a way to gain a new perspective while also understanding what “really matters” as a veterinarian. They mean the world to me and have influenced the way I strive to practice veterinary medicine.

Say yes (within reason): Now is the time to explore opportunities and see what is exciting. This year I have continued to explore different routes of veterinary medicine and found out how much I enjoy learning about holistic medicine as well as understanding how I can integrate it with the traditional Western medicine we are taught. I also realized that even though I plan to pursue small animal medicine, I still have a heart for large animal medicine and will find a way to work this into my future career.

Not knowing is ok and is expected: Effort and vulnerability around trying is praised just as much, if not more than knowing everything. We are stinking second-year vet students, we are not expected to know everything. We wouldn’t need to be in school if we had all the answers. Taking a step out of your comfort zone and trying even if you might be wrong is the best way to learn and will create much stronger neural connections than staying silent.

You are NOT in competition with your classmates: Coming into vet school there is an inherent amount of competitiveness. Let’s face it, it’s hard to get in and most people are used to being at the top of their class. This year I focused on keeping my attention centered around my performance and how I show up for myself. It’s me vs me, not me vs anyone else. I want to be able to rely on my classmates after graduation and use them as resources because as a team we will achieve exponentially more than we could on our own. I firmly believe that regardless of the route we all pursue after vet school, there is a way for everyone to achieve their goal. Someone else’s success or achievement does not take the opportunity for success away from someone else.

It's ok to not know what you want to do after graduation: We are only 50% of the way through the curriculum, of course it’s ok to not have it “all figured out”. I also realize that the more I plan what I want my future to look like, the more I get humbled and realize that I never really was in control anyway. With faith, effort, and drive, things will work out how they are supposed to.

Be a kind person: This is self-explanatory, but I think it is something that commonly gets overlooked or taken for granted. This past year I was in the Healer’s Art course and through the different sessions, people shared things that I would have never been able to guess they were going through. These things were deep and shook people to their core yet they managed to maintain a neutral appearance on the outside and continue life as usual. It's cliché but you never truly know what people are going through so choose kindness.

Fail fast and fail often: Perfection is unattainable so learning how to pivot and grow from the experience is key. Veterinary medicine is not black or white, it's a spectrum of gray that does not always have a clear algorithm. I have gotten to the point where I realize that if I am too comfortable for too long, I am probably not growing and need to shake something up.

UC Davis SVM cares deeply about their students: This may also seem obvious but throughout this past year I have seen the faculty and administrators go above and beyond to support students and give them the resources they need to succeed. I can confidently say that I feel safe and supported at this school and know that if I needed something, I would have people to reach out to for support. I know this is not the case at all universities and may not even be how every student at UCD feels so I consider it a privileged to feel this way about my university.

God remains faithful through it all: Speaking from personal experience, I know that when I do not keep God at the center of my life things are more chaotic and off kilter. I know that I am in the position that I am in today by the grace of God and without Him, none of this would be even remotely possible. The experiences and connections I have had continue to prove His involvement in my life and plans for my future. Having a faith-based community and mentors that I can call on (even if they are miles away) has been a way that I have remained grounded and kept the bigger purpose in mind.

All of the above might make school seem like a breeze and a warm happy place where dreams come true. While I am certainly an optimist, and genuinely love my school and the people I get to interact with, it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. There are sacrifices that are made daily and regardless of how hard you try, you are still human and cannot do everything. This year was packed with tough curriculum, weekly exams, simulations, and assessments. It was a grind but that’s what we signed up for! While I made many family events, I also missed many important events and those are things that I cannot get back. I missed one of my best friend’s weddings, I missed countless birthdays, and walked my family through the euthanasia of my childhood dog from 500 miles away. It honestly sucks a little when you come home to your little buddy in a box instead of greeting you at the front door. These are all sacrifices that are a part of the journey and being able to talk about the hard parts creates community and makes people realize they are not alone.

This recap has given me the opportunity to reflect on just how much has happened this past year and my heart could not be filled with more gratitude. I seriously have the best support system spanning throughout California and beyond. I have been given opportunities that I could have never imagined and have gotten to grow closer to some incredible people who I will have the privilege of calling “colleague” in a few short years. If any of you are reading this, know that I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart.

At the end of the day, the days go slow but the years go FAST. Here’s to being 50% dogtors 🐾

Post 13.5 mile run selfie with Churro!