VETERINARY SCIENCE PROGRAM INSPIRES YOUTH

After a two-year hiatus due to Covid, the 4-H Veterinary Science Program in Stone Ridge, New York, was resumed. The program is sponsored by Dr. Beth Alden, professor of biology and director of the SUNY Ulster Vet Tech Program and the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County”™s (CCEUC) 4-H Youth Development. 

 Student participant Elizabeth Mashburn said, “”¦I really liked the experience of being hands-on, from dissections to actually being in the lab and testing our pet stool samples.” 

The program piqued her interest and she was inspired to continue working with animals after the program ended. She put her entrepreneurial skills learned in 4-H and worked out a business plan for a neighborhood pet-sitting and dog-walking business. 

During the 4-H program, students participate in hands-on instruction while learning the full scope of work that veterinarians and vet techs do. When learning about health, cleaning and disinfections, they practice the intricate ritual of preparing for surgery by scrubbing and suiting up in the clothes that protect patients from infection. 

The students are looking forward to a final class and graduation where a wildlife rehabilitator and graduate of SUNY Ulster”™s Vet Tech Program will discuss his veterinary career.

Cornell Cooperative Extension is a dynamic education system connecting Cornell”™s world-class research with regional and county-based educators and partners across the state. With a presence in every county and all five boroughs of New York City, it is uniquely positioned to tailor opportunities and resources to match the diverse and ever-evolving needs of individual communities across the state.