Zoology students learn to care for God’s dominion as they prep for vet school

Through the zoology (pre-vet) degree program at Liberty University, students are being prepared to do more than treat the health of creatures big and small; they are pursuing God’s calling to care for His creation.

Program director and Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Kyle Harris said the degree helps set students’ foundations for veterinary school but it also guides them on a path to potential animal research.

“The program was designed with our pre-vet students in mind, and so it really does target that group of students who want to go on to graduate school,” Harris said. “It meets a lot of the academic rigor that’s needed to get into those competitive programs. It also services students who don’t necessarily want to go to vet school but want to go into wildlife or animal-specific research. The program is often a mix of both.”

Alumnus Alexandra Reddy (’20) earned her pre-vet degree from Liberty and was accepted to Virginia Tech’s Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, where she graduated valedictorian of the Class of 2024. She has remained there to achieve specialization through a five-year combined veterinary anatomic pathology residency and Ph.D. program.

Originally studying environmental science at Liberty out of her love for protecting and caring for animals, Reddy found that in veterinary medicine she could work directly with the animals. She sees the profession as an opportunity to serve the Lord.

“Everyone who enters this career is passionate about helping animals and people, but then for us as Christians, it goes even a step further and deeper in that we’re (aware) of the gift and the privilege that God gives us to care for His creation. On the long days and the hard days, that can motivate us to push through and not give up,” she said.

“It is stewardship, and it ties in with what we would see as (promoting) godly dominion,” Harris added. “That means helping the created order to thrive, and that’s not just people. In these programs, it expands out to helping the entirety of creation. Every living thing has intrinsic value, because we’re part of God’s spoken world.”

A core component of Liberty’s program is gaining experience outside of the classroom, either collectively as a class or individually through volunteering or internships, which Harris said they are strongly encouraged to do. In Reddy’s case, she “fell in love” with Hill City AquaZoo (formerly SeaQuest Lynchburg) at River Ridge Mall, during a class under Harris. After arriving at Virginia Tech, she learned that one of the program’s professors, Dr. Stephen Smith, is the veterinarian for Hill City AquaZoo, and she was able to complete a clinical rotation there under his mentorship. Today, as a veterinary diagnostician, she supports AquaZoo when they need an animal autopsy to enhance their conservation efforts.

“It’s been really full circle from being an undergraduate student to a veterinarian now getting to help the zoo,” Reddy said.

When she was a freshman at Liberty exploring the pre-vet route, Reddy realized that others may be in search of guidance and community when it comes to a veterinary future, so she enlisted the help of her friends to create the Pre-Vet Club, an approved club through the Student Government Association.

“I saw how difficult it was for myself to try to find out the steps I needed to be taking to get into vet school, and I realized that if I’m in this same boat, there has to be others as well,” she said. “I saw that need, and I wanted to help those behind me at Liberty to not have to face the same struggles in trying to figure out how to become a veterinarian as I did.”

Current club president and zoology senior Adam Russell began as a pre-med student but learned about pre-vet when he attended the club out of curiosity. Russell said nearly every monthly meeting features a guest speaker from a local clinic or vet school who shares the realities of a career in veterinary science. The speakers often connect students with opportunities to work with animals off campus.

“We ask them to be as honest as possible, not to make it sound nice and easy,” he said. “It’s not just working with cute cats and dogs. It can be very stressful, and we want the pre-vet students to be aware of the positives and negatives of veterinary medicine so they can know if it’s the right thing for them. We want people to be aware that this is what they want to do before they put all this effort in. And for those who are already sure, then they can just bolster their knowledge of what and how they can improve themselves headed toward vet school.”

Reddy has spoken to the club twice since graduating. She said the rigorous courses at Liberty helped prepare her to navigate the challenging material and academic load of vet school.

“(At the club), I shared about the things I did while at Liberty to make myself a more competitive applicant for getting into vet school, and I touched on life during veterinary school, our clinical rotations, and how our classes are,” she said. “One of the big things I also touched on is this is a very stressful field — physically, emotionally, and mentally. Our faith plays a huge role in how we navigate this life and navigate all those stressors and pressures of this career.”

One aspect of veterinary medicine that Russell and Reddy said some may overlook is the relationship between a vet and the pet owners.

“A huge component is communication with owners and trying to work around what they’re saying and try to collect a history from them to diagnose,” Russell said. “It’s a field where you’re working with people just as much as you are in human medicine, and you’re working on a patient who can’t tell you what’s wrong with them.”

“A lot of people think people do veterinary medicine because they love animals, but there’s always a person attached to that animal, and so this is also a career of serving people too, and we have the privilege to be a light (for Christ) to them,” Reddy added.

For more information on the Pre-Vet Club, find them at @luprevetclub on Instagram.