Experience of a Lifetime
Imagine flying in a helicopter and shooting sedation darts on practice targets.
Or observing a veterinarian perform two lion vasectomies.
Can’t imagine that? Try going shark cage diving off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal and getting up close and personal with blacktip sharks.
Not enough? How about watching trainers and veterinarians performing physical exams on bottlenose dolphins. Or going on safari game drives through Kruger National Park. Maybe working with a veterinary team to immobilize an elephant bull for research sampling.
Leo Viollet, a second-year veterinary medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine, doesn’t have to image those things. She experienced these, and many more, during an 18-day international experience through the SYMCO South African Wildlife Symposium last summer.
“One of my favorite activities was the rhinoceros immobilization and relocation I took part of,” Viollet said. “I helped guide a mother and calf down gently to gather samples, assess health and wellness, and relocate them to a different area on the reserve for safety purposes.”
Viollet, who earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has yet to decide her ultimate career path. She plans to use this international experience to spread the importance of international travel and study abroad to other Iowa State veterinary students.
“Going on this trip had its multitude of challenges, but I attained a strength that I plan to use in any class, career or goal that I pursue – adaptation,” she said. “The world is forever changing in all four hemispheres, and I will choose to change with it.”
As you can see, the 18 days she spent in South Africa was an eye-opening experience for Viollet. She says it forced her out of her comfort zone and the amount of knowledge she acquired was priceless.
“Getting to work with these larger-than-life animals in their natural habitats and learning their anatomy, physiology and keystone impacts on the ecosystem they inhabit was remarkable,” she said. “These incredible experiences are unheard of in the United States, which makes this experience even more special and unique.”
October 2024
