Abroad in Ireland

BROOTEN— Plane rides and livestock experience were on this summer’s bucket list for Shauna Wendell and Rhianwyn Hage after finishing their freshman year of college. Wendell, of New York City, and Hage, of Stillwater, spent six days at Jer-Lindy Farms, a dairy farm owned and operated by Jerry and Linda Jennissen, to fulfill their schooling training.

As veterinary students at the University College Dublin in Ireland, the girls are required to complete 24 weeks of practical application work to meet the school’s preclinical requirements. Students must spend two weeks working with each of five livestock species: horses, sheep, pigs, dairy cows and beef cows. Companion animals such as dogs and cats are also a requirement.

“It is vet school, so we both knew there would be challenges associated with it,” Wendell said. “Next summer we have free, but for the summers following that, we will have clinical placements with a veterinarian full time.”

The 5-year program requires preclinical and clinical extramural studies. Preclinical studies allow students to learn before moving on to clinicals, which include hands-on involvement during patient care. Extramural studies are off-campus learning experiences. Hage and Wendell said a competitive and intense curriculum is exactly what they knew they were signing up for.

“We try our best to work hard and be as dedicated as we can,” Wendell said. “At the end of the day, we are grateful and know we are very lucky to be in the position we’re in.”

Hage and Wendell met when they became roommates in Ireland. Both fell into their studies and were eager, they said, to complete their first placement in lambing on an Irish sheep farm over their spring break.

“We went out into the countryside, and it was beautiful,” Hage said. “(It was) a very classic Irish setting … to have lambs being born and just running around in the green grass.”

Hage said Irish farmers are accustomed to having vet students on their farms. But in the U.S., this is more challenging since fewer are open to the idea.

“It’s important that we get such practical applications during school,” Hage said. “Some vets graduate without ever experiencing some species.”

As international students, Hage and Wendell said they were able to choose to complete their placements in the U.S. or in Ireland. Hage recalled a tour she attended at Red Head Creamery with her mother a few years ago, and the welcoming atmosphere she experienced was something that stuck with her. Red Head Creamery is located at Jer-Lindy Farms and operated by the Jennissens along with their daughter and son-in-law, Alise and Lucas Sjostrom. Hage and Wendell decided the farm site would be the perfect place to complete their dairy placement together.

“Everyone here has been incredibly welcoming,” Wendell said. “They’re making sure we’re learning, and with everything we do, there is someone behind us telling us why we do that and how it helps the animals.”

Hage and Wendell put in 12-hour days while they worked on the farm and at the creamery. Each day started at 5 a.m. Morning routines consisted of taking care of the cattle, and the afternoon routines were spent making cheese.

“It’s been a full-circle experience,” Hage said. “We’re taking care of the cows in the morning, we see the milk after the cows have been milked with the robots, and then we go downstairs where the vat is literally making cheese.”

As a cheese lover, Hage said, this placement has been a favorite.

“The cows had such personality from the get-go,” she said. “It’s been fun to have animals so eager to be cared for.”

Hage hopes to focus her academic goals on her veterinary studies and pursue the field of orthopedics, combining modern medicine with holistic practices like acupuncture.

“I had the chance to work with vets and learned I like surgery and the diagnostic process,” Hage said. “The puzzling part of veterinary medicine is where you have all these random symptoms and it’s your job to figure out how they all connect.”

Hage is certified in A.I., embryo placement and semen collection. She has helped with the breeding process at HP Arabians, near her hometown, during the summertime for the last four years. She has helped breed five foals and been involved in the process leading to birth.

“I also have a little zoo of my own at home,” Hage said. “I have ducks, chickens, parakeets, a dog and a cat for my parents to enjoy while I am away.”

Wendell has experience as a certified wildlife rehabilitator at Weinberg Center, a nature center near her hometown in New York. There, she has primarily worked with exotic species such as reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds. She was involved in husbandry, minor medical care and presentations for the youth day camp at the nature center.

“There are so many pathways you can take in veterinary medicine,” Wendell said. “No one really tells you at vet school; you have to kind of piece it together for yourself … The exotics field is a great fit for me, because it’s always going to be a mix of zoological, exotics and wildlife, which is what I enjoy.”

Hage and Wendell both said being able to work at Jer-Lindy Farms and Red Head Creamery has been an unforgettable experience, helping them to secure a future in veterinary medicine.

“It’s really important to have people who understand that there needs to be hands-on education for veterinarians to be good at doing farmwork,” Hage said. “While there is a shortage of vets overall, there is a huge shortage of vets in the farm field. Part of that is because it is a hard field to break into.”