Sureni Beckford ’12
Turpentine Wildlife Refuge
Eureka Springs, AR
Major at Wooster: Biochemistry Molecular Biology
To say that my Wooster education has prepared me for my future career would be a great understatement. My time at the College of Wooster gave me the opportunity to develop in many ways, particularly as an independent thinker. In my sophomore year I worked as a research assistant under Dr. Dean Fraga where I had the responsibility of creating baseline growth curves of wild type and four knockout strains of a particular soil bacteria. As a sophomore researcher I was challenged to think critically and independently about my project in order to develop revisions to my protocol. During these two semesters I was frustrated with the progress of my work, but now I realize that the challenges I faced helped develop my problem solving skills. Skills which were vital in the later development and implementation of my senior independent study. In retrospect, this was one of the most valuable experiences on my road toward veterinary medicine as it gave me insight into the joys and frustrations of scientific inquiry. I also found that as a researcher I was determined, inquisitive, and ready to work through challenges with an end goal in mind.
Research was only one aspect of my Wooster education that really helped to prepare me for the “real world”. The College of Wooster provides so many opportunities for its students and thankfully I was able to gain experiences that, to this day, mark pivotal moments that have helped direct my career focus. One which stands out clearly in my mind is the ‘Lilly Project for the Exploration of Vocation’. This program provided fellowship opportunities in which students were encouraged to engage in serious vocational exploration to investigate their passions through experiential learning. I strongly believed that this opportunity was exactly what I needed to help determine if my passions aligned with my career of interest. In applying to this program I chose the fellowship that most suited my needs; the Azimuth Fellowship. “Azimuth” allowed me to design a unique veterinary internship for which I wrote a grant proposal which was submitted to a committee for evaluation. As I wrote my proposal I realized that, at the time, the reason why I wanted to be a veterinarian was still unclear to me. There was so much I wanted, no, needed to learn about my dream profession and I knew this fellowship would offer answers. In my internship, I explored various options within the veterinary field to gain a clearer appreciation for the profession. I shadowed veterinarians in a small animal clinic, a spay/neuter program, a veterinary tech laboratory and on a horse racetrack. I had a diverse array of experiences and developed skills which I had never anticipated learning prior to boarding my flight to my home country of Jamaica that summer. In the short ten weeks on my fellowship, I learned that my passion and career interests were, in fact, synonymous.
All my experiences at Wooster have brought me to where I am today. As I sit here to write this almost, a year after graduating, I am able to truly appreciate all I have gained from my liberal arts education. With the base of the experience gained throughout the Lilly project I applied for a very competitive internship with Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. I was chosen out of over 100 applicants for one of the 12 intern positions at this facility. As an intern at the refuge I gained 6 months of experience working with a variety of exotic animals. I was responsible for the safety and daily care of tigers, lions, black bears, a grizzly bear, cougars, bobcats, leopards, and African servals. Duties of my position included animal husbandry, enrichment, and observation and evaluation of animal behavior. The teamwork and leadership skills that I gained through my extracurricular activities at Wooster helped greatly in my daily interactions with fellow interns and supervisors. I worked six days a week giving daily tours to the public educating them about the exotic animal trade, the mission of the refuge and occasionally gave keeper talks on species specific topics.
I will be starting veterinary school in Grenada at St. George’s University in August 2013. I am truly excited to begin this journey to attaining a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. My experience post-graduation at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge has sparked my interest in exotic animal medicine and surgery. I hope to specialize in this field of veterinary medicine.