As an undergraduate student, Maddie DeLeon spent a semester on a study abroad program in Mexico.
Bitten by the travel bug, DeLeon later did a winter break international experience as a veterinary student at Iowa State University.
Her most recent journey abroad was quite different from her previous experiences.
“I was able to work with production animals and really honed in that knowledge, which will make a difference in my ability to work and treat these types of animals,” said DeLeon.
This semester, DeLeon and two other Iowa State fourth year veterinary students spent two weeks at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway’s only veterinary educational institution.
Like DeLeon, fellow fourth-year student Mary Shytles worked in both the large animal hospital and ambulatory clinic. There the pair treated cows, pigs, goats and sheep including performing castrations, bottle feeding calves and kids, and giving countless sheep vaccinations.
“I specifically chose to do a production animal rotation due to laws pertaining to animals are so different depending on the country,” Shytles said. “At this point in my studies, I feel I have a good understanding of American laws which allowed me to have better discussions with clinicians and students on the differences.”
Fellow Iowa Stater Izabelle Krupa spent four weeks at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, two each in small animal surgery and then two more with small animal internal medicine.
She also had several hands-on opportunities during her time in Norway, everything from scrubbing into surgeries and seeing appointments and inpatients from the hospital’s emergency service.
“The case load was much lower than I was used to at Iowa State,” Krupa said. “Less cases meant that clinicians could spend more time teaching us about certain procedures and disease conditions.”
Just as valuable as the time the trio spent in the Norway veterinary hospital was the experience of being in a different country. They explored the country which included sledding, hiking, ice skating and cultural activities.
“It was an adventure in both travel and vet med,” DeLeon said. “We are in a field that is always learning new skills and information, so it is hard to look past anything vet med related.
“But there were plenty of opportunities to mix both life within and outside veterinary medicine and it’s pretty cool – you just have to take on the adventure.”
The College of Veterinary Medicine’s program with Norwegian University of Life Sciences is more than just sending Iowa State student abroad. The college also has hosted students from the Norway university in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center. A pair of Norway students recently completed several rotations including one in equine theriogenology.
The ability to experience a different way of looking at veterinary medicine is important, no matter where you are from or where you are studying.
“Medicine is all about evolving and improving and that’s hard to do when you’re talking to people who have a similar background to you,” Shytles said. “Going to a different country where the culture and perspective is different challenges you to analyze how you would approach a problem and question if that’s truly the best way.”
April 2026