鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 Dal when I first started here,鈥� Jessica Compagnon explains, referring to AV俱乐部鈥檚 Agricultural Campus, 鈥渂ut I chose this school a really long time ago.鈥�
Jessica, who is graduating with her Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) with a major in animal science and minor in genetics & molecular biology and food science & technology, had wanted to study at the former Nova Scotia Agricultural College since she was in middle school. Originally from the small town of Kingston in Nova Scotia鈥檚 Annapolis Valley, it was the pre-vet program and working barn that brought her to Truro.
鈥淚 had only touched a cow once before I came to the school, and that was about it,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o when I got here, it was quite a learning curve, working with cows, sheep, chickens and animals like that, which a lot of our courses are based around.鈥�
She was thrilled by the possibility of being able to work with animals on a day-to-day basis.
When she wasn鈥檛 in class or volunteering in the barn,聽Jessica was often involved with animal care groups and other student societies. She is currently vice-president of the faculty鈥檚 pre-vet club and volunteers for the Disaster Animal Response Team of Nova Scotia. She is also the current vice-president internal of the AV俱乐部 Agricultural Students鈥� Association and, for the past two years, she has represented the AV俱乐部 Agricultural Campus on its cross country team.
Jessica聽is looking forward to finally achieving her goal of having a career in veterinary medicine.
鈥淚鈥檝e applied to veterinary school for next year,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my ultimate goal in life. So if I don鈥檛 get in next year, I鈥檓 going to keep working towards it.鈥�
This article is part of a series on our newest graduates. These profiles are also published in the 2014 Spring Convocation Keepsake, which is distributed at Convocation ceremonies. For more on Convocation (including live webcasts), .