Ambassador Profile – Laura Bradley, University of Nottingham, England
Hi, I’m Laura – Student at Nottingham University. I have been a part of The Expedition Project Ambassador team since 2024.
I initially started working with The Expedition Project when I helped arrange a trip to South Africa for 14 fellow vet students – this took over a year of planning and took place in February and March 2024.
WHEN DID I FIRST REALISE I WANTED TO BE A VET?
One of my first ‘dream jobs’ as a little kid was to be a vet – I had a huge love of animals and so it seemed the obvious choice, allowing you to help them in so many ways. But I never really thought of it as something I could actually do until I got to GCSE’s and realised I was pretty good at science. I’d already decided I wanted to work with animals in some form, as I knew that would make me happy. Then once I started thinking about A levels and university, I realised that there was nothing stopping me from achieving that dream if I worked hard and dedicated myself to it. As soon as I made the decision to apply for veterinary medicine, I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do!
WHAT IS MY MOTIVATION TO BECOME A VET?
Being a vet is a huge privilege as you can have a large impact on the lives of both animals and people, which I find greatly rewarding. I also love to learn and push myself to try new things, which is an important aspect of being part of the veterinary industry. You are constantly given opportunities to further your knowledge and improve yourself, which makes it such an exciting field to work in!.
MY BIGGEST TIP IF YOU WANT TO STUDY TO BECOME A VET IS…
Start with getting varied work experience, as it really helps you get an idea of what the veterinary industry is like and where you could fit into it. I wasn’t completely certain on choosing veterinary medicine until I did my first work experience in a vet practice, but after that I knew it was the career for me! Try and get experience with all kinds of animals, and don’t be afraid to just walk into places and ask for opportunities. It’s also useful to follow veterinary news to keep up to date on current topical issues.
WHAT IS MY FAVOURITE ANIMAL?
I never know how to answer this question, but I’d probably say any species of cat, whether it be big or small! I love how clever cats can be and find them fascinating to watch. I also have a random love of whales – again I love how intelligent they are, and I would love to see them in the wild. And finally I’d have to say elephants – I could watch them interact with each other for hours, and I love how complex their social systems are!
MY FAVOURITE ANIMAL-RELATED STORY IS…
While on my wildlife vet experience in South Africa, we found a huge python on a sable farm. It must have measured at least 8ft, and we were able to catch it and put it in a bag to take off the farm with us and release it somewhere else. After the sable farm we stopped off at a cattle farm for some pregnancy diagnosis, but when we got back to the vehicle we released that the snake bag was empty…we looked everywhere but couldn’t find any trace of this massive snake! We all had a good laugh about it and wondered whether the snake would make a sudden reappearance later on in the trip!
MY FAVOURITE ANIMAL PHOTO I HAVE TAKEN IS…
I took this photo in Kruger National Park. We had already been so lucky to see two herds of elephant and two bull elephants, however as we were leaving the park this huge bull crossed the road right in front of our vehicle. It was honestly breath-taking, seeing such an incredible animal that close. I took the photo just as he stopped and swung his head towards us – for a second we all thought he was about to charge the vehicle. I’ll never forget that moment and the incredible trip.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.