Four years ago, Marietta College proudly boasted how three Biochemistry graduates were heading off to veterinary schools around the country.
Now, Megan Baché ’17, Ashley Payne ’17 and Rachel Stahl ’17 have graduated from their respective programs.
“The years went by very quickly although the days seemed impossibly long,” says Stahl, who graduated from The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to travel and see behind the scenes at various zoos and aquariums and have seen various exotic zoo animals come to OSU for treatment. I’ve gotten to do a lot of amazing outreach medicine as well, from vaccine clinics for lower-income areas to performing yearly physicals for service dogs.”
Payne, who graduated from Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, agrees that there were many long, difficult days.
“The last four years have been much more challenging than I expected,” she says. “Everyone warned me that it would be difficult, but vet school is hard to accurately describe unless you’ve been through it. Ultimately it requires a lot of dedication and determination to do whatever it takes to graduate, whether that be staying up late or giving up other, more fun things so that you have time to study adequately.”
Stahl is interviewing for jobs in the Columbus and Cincinnati area, while Payne is going to take a few months to travel around the U.S. before finding a small or mixed-animal general practice. Baché graduated from the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine and is excited to be working for a small animal practice in Hannibal, Missouri.
“This is something that I have wanted to do since I was 7,” Baché says. “That fact that I have done it is both terrifying and awe-inspiring. I am now the adult who will be making these tough decisions.”
Now all three members of The Long Blue Line have a familiar title: doctor.
“It feels amazing,” Stahl says. “This is a lifelong dream come true!”
