Haley Bernardo

Haley Bernardo, class of 2023, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in pre-veterinary science. Haley is from Hopkinton, MA, so UMass Amherst was always on her radar with a great animal science and pre-veterinary science department. The many opportunities that were offered by the VASCI department, including the Tufts Early Acceptance program, AI spring break trip, management classes, on campus barn, and much more, were the deciding factors when she was choosing where to go for undergraduate degree. During her four years at UMass, Haley has solidified her idea of going to veterinary school and becoming a small animal surgeon. Haley was offered early acceptance to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University during her sophomore year at UMass. She plans to start at Cummings in the Fall of 2023.

Haley attended the Norfolk County Agricultural High School in Walpole, MA where she was able to take classes on various aspects of the animal and veterinary sciences, work hands-on with the animals at the school (livestock, small animal, avian, reptiles), and intern at Massachusetts General Hospital as an animal care intern. She was also a member and president of the Natick Community Organic Farm 4H club during this time. Throughout high school and to the present, Haley has been working at the Southborough Veterinary Hospital as a veterinary assistant. 

During her time at UMass, Haley has taken the Boer Goat Management and Dairy Calf Management classes. She has absolutely loved both classes and acquired much information and experience from them. Haley has also been a Teaching Assistant for the Introduction to Animal Science and Animal Nutrition courses. She loves these opportunities to give back to the VASCI department and to help the following classes of animal science students. For the second semester of her junior year, Haley studied abroad in Valencia, Spain and interned in a marine biology lab which was introducing an endangered species of mollusk back into the ocean. Additionally, Haley has been a part of the Gerson Lab since her freshman year. The Gerson Lab studies avian migration physiology and avian energetics. Haley is currently working on her thesis studying the influence of sex and morph on the usage of endogenous fuels during migration in White-throated Sparrows. 

In the summer of 2020, Haley continued working at the Southborough Veterinary Hospital, and she also worked at the Banfield Pet Hospital in Newton as a veterinary assistant. In both positions, she gained a lot of skills including restraint, blood withdrawal, vaccine immunization, diagnostic testing, and more. The following summer, she interned at the New England Wildlife Center as a veterinary intern. This was a great chance for her to delve into the wildlife side of veterinary medicine. During the summer before her senior year, she continued working at the Southborough Veterinary Hospital while also volunteering at the Northborough Canine Rehabilitation and Fitness Center. 

Haley is also a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, the Animal Science and Pre-Vet club, and the UMass Ski and Board club. 

Please feel free to reach out to Haley about any questions regarding UMass Amherst.