The moment I knew

Spencer Stelly, LSU Vet Med fourth-year DVM student and national president of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association, on when he knew his calling.

By Spencer Stelly

After three weeks of rotating through various human medical specialties while in high school, I learned the disheartening truth: I had no passion for any of the hospital specialties I observed. My lifelong dream of becoming a surgeon who operated on humans crumbled beneath me. As a last-ditch effort to explore medicine, I decided to job shadow at a veterinary hospital for a day. I walked into the clinic and saw a dog undergoing exploratory surgery, a cat being examined, a pig receiving treatment, and a horse recovering—all simultaneously! Even in a chaotic environment of multiple species receiving medical care, all I could feel was peace. I knew I had found my passion and career. That was the moment I knew I needed–yes, needed–to be a veterinarian.

I have always loved medicine–the science and physiology, the problem solving and puzzle pieces, the pressure of making decisions when the answer is not obvious and the stakes are high.

I have always loved medicine–the science and physiology, the problem solving and puzzle pieces, the pressure of making decisions when the answer is not obvious and the stakes are high. Veterinary medicine demands that you listen without words and pay attention to what could easily be missed–a change in behavior, a posture shift, or an unusual attitude–little moments that may seem insignificant but are the difference between noticing a problem and missing it entirely.

However, being a veterinarian is not only about what happens in the hospital, which I learned when I became involved with organized medicine through the Student American Veterinary Medical Association. At first, I thought advocacy meant representing students, speaking when necessary, voting, and going home. When I sat in those rooms, I heard people talk about legislation that could change the profession I was preparing to enter. I saw how decisions made in one room could affect thousands of veterinarians, students, clients, and patients I would never meet. I did not yet understand how much influence one person could have simply by being willing to show up and care enough to speak. Suddenly, veterinary medicine felt much larger than the hospital walls, and I remember thinking, “I have to be part of this.”

I did not yet understand how much influence one person could have simply by being willing to show up and care enough to speak.

That was the second moment I knew. I didn't have everything figured out, but I did know I could not spend my career talking about what needed to change if I was unwilling to step into the room where change actually happened. If I was going to ask other people to care about the future of veterinary medicine, I had to care enough to do something about it myself. That realization made this career more than medicine; it became advocacy, leadership, responsibility, service, a willingness to speak when staying quiet would be easier, and an
invitation to listen when I would rather be heard, both in the hospital and at the head of the conference room table. I have learned to give myself to the moment and to be uncomfortable, vulnerable, authentic, and seen, trusting that whatever happens next, I will stay present and give everything I have to give.

And that is when I knew veterinary medicine was not simply something I wanted to do, but something I needed to do. I do not know exactly where this profession will take me, but I know I am excited, overwhelmed, humbled, and proud to spend my life answering the call and fighting for veterinary medicine.