Student earns scholarship to help in journey to become a mixed-animal vet

Posted 5 April 2018

Connor Fettes, a Harper Adams University BSc (Hons) Bioveterinary Science student, has been awarded a John Longwill Scholarship to help him continue his journey to become a mixed-animal veterinary surgeon, specialising in cattle.

The 24-year-old from Shepshed, Leicestershire, said: “Bioveterinary science is giving me a solid foundation to veterinary medicine and teaching me skills academically and practically that are crucial for the job. Along with this, Harper Adams has a fantastic farm animal unit, including dairy and beef herd, flocks of sheep, pig unit and not forgetting the small animal centre.

“I find learning about diseases within my university course very interesting and would like to take this area of animal health further. Upon completing my degree, I aim to apply as a graduate to a school of veterinary medicine to do a postgraduate degree in veterinary medicine.

“Once graduated from vet school, I hope to go on and specialise in bovine medicine, leading to working directly with farmers who own dairy or beef animals.

“With modern day agriculture, there are numerous procedures saving animals that are carried out on the farm in the 21^st century that would’ve never been thinkable many years ago; such as vaccinations for a whole array of diseases which reduce animal mortality.

“Paraprofessionals are coming together, for example veterinary surgeons and nutritionists, to provide farmers with better information and resources to make sure they are doing the very best for their animals and achieving the best yields they can.

“I want to be at the forefront of this, driving forward with the modern medicine for the modern world.

“I completed my placement year at Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons, which included six months of racing medicine, x-raying, lameness diagnosis and then six months of stud medicine, where I drew-up and injected medicines, along with generic routines that happen on stud farms during the stud season.”

On receiving the John Longwill Scholarship, Connor added: “The financial support of the scholarship will help me with purchasing books to help with my degree course and when I do my veterinary medicine degree, along with my final year accommodation.

“We’re also offered different courses, both through Harper Adams and privately, that can be done to increase our knowledge and experience. One which I’d like to undertake is foot trimming, which would also be a practical qualification that I can take home and use at work. This is another way the scholarship will help me.”