Student Profiles

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.

Anna decided to initially major in Animal Science because of her persistent love of animals. After her first year in the program, she decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Throughout her time at UMass, she grew to love working with livestock, especially dairy cows, and hopes to continue working with them as a large animal veterinarian in the future.

Amelia Jennette will be graduating with the class of 2024 as a Pre-Veterinary Science and Biology double major. Despite accidentally choosing the hottest day of Summer 2019 for her campus tour, Amelia decided to attend UMass for its unique research opportunities, ample hands-on experiences, and admittedly, the nationally top ranked dining. Her decision was also supported by receiving the Chancellor’s Award Scholarship, which significantly reduced out-of-state tuition.

Ethan Dixon will graduate from UMass in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Veterinary Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in STEM-German. Ethan grew up in Ohio, and found UMass Amherst through its esteemed Pre-Veterinary and Animal Science programs. After some consideration, the opportunities in the VASCI department were what eventually won Ethan over in choosing UMass, along with the beautiful campus and impressive dining services. Ethan also took German in high school and wanted to continue learning German in pursuit of becoming bilingual and fell into a German major after

Kaleigh Simmons will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Veterinary Science in May 2024. Growing up across the Connecticut River in nearby Hatfield, Massachusetts, Kaleigh knew from a young age that UMass Amherst would be the perfect school to help her achieve her goal of becoming a veterinarian due to the well-known Animal Science program, the location, and the high rate of students accepted to veterinary school.

Miranda Leibstein will graduate from UMass in May of 2024 with a BS in Pre-Veterinary Science from the VASCI Department. Originally from Long Island, New York, Miranda committed to UMass as an Animal Science major in the fall of 2021 because of the rigorous and prestigious program that is offered here, the research opportunities offered by faculty, the location of the university, and the high rate of acceptance into veterinary school.

Annabella Whalen will be graduating in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science with the Animal Management concentration. Growing up in nearby West Springfield, MA, UMass Amherst was always a school she was very interested in, and she was especially drawn to the Animal Science program. After learning more about the countless opportunities the department has to offer it was very clear UMass was the right fit for her.

Laura Snow, class of 2024, grew up in Connecticut, but chose UMass due to its vast opportunities and hands-on guarantees in research and animal handling. She has taken full advantage of everything UMass has to offer, pursuing dual degrees in Biology and Pre-Veterinary Science, minors in Creative Writing, Microbiology, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, as well as being a member of the Commonwealth Honors College.

Hannah Lee will be graduating in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science with the Animal Management concentration. Raised in the suburban town of Burlington, Massachusetts, she planned to become a biology major at UMass with the intention of going to medical school, but she changed her major to pursue a career working with animals.

Kalman Baker will be graduating in spring 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Pre-Veterinary Science. After graduation, he will be attending the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine with the hopes of specializing in exotic and wildlife medicine.

Erica Schmidt will be graduating in spring 2023, completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science with a concentration in biotechnology and research. Being from Connecticut originally, Erica wanted to stay in the New England area for college.

I’m Kelsey and I’m currently a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Veterinary Technology. I’m from Oxford Massachusetts, a small town right outside of Worcester. My passion for animals started young as I grew up right next to a pond where I learned how to handle frogs and turtles with care, and clean up their environment to keep their water clean.

Hello, I am Adam Ruales-Godoy a UMass-Amherst student pursuing a bachelor's degree in Pre-Veterinary Science and a minor in Biology with a clear vision of being a veterinarian. I am from the small town of Belleville, New Jersey where my parents immigrated from Ecuador.

Sarah Hazzard will be graduating in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Veterinary Science. She is originally from East Greenbush, NY and decided to start her collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst due to the rigorous Veterinary and Animal Science program offered, the high acceptance rate into veterinary school, and the hands-on experiences offered throughout all four years of college.

Spenser Worthington-Berry, Class of 2023, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Veterinary Science. Having grown up with animals, Spenser realized his passion for animals, science and veterinary medicine at an early age.

Brooklynne Mitchell-Arno, class of 2023, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science and conservation journalism, a major she created through the BDIC department at UMass Amherst. After graduating in May 2023, starting in September, Brooklynne will be interning at Toucan Rescue Ranch’s wildlife clinic in Costa Rica, assisting veterinarians in sloth surgery, rehabilitation and re-release.

Jordan Messier will be graduating in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Veterinary Science. A quadruplet from Coventry, Rhode Island, Jordan chose to attend UMass because of the rigorous VASCI program, the early acceptance Pre-Veterinary program with Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the various opportunities for hands-on experience with large animals, as well as the campus and surrounding community which has become her new home.

Leo (Leopoldine) Viollet will be graduating in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Veterinary Science. Leo was born in Paris, France, and moved with her family to the United States at the age of 9 in pursuit of greater life and educational opportunities.

Julia Gagnon, class of 2023, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Veterinary Science. She is originally from a small town in the northern part of rural Massachusetts, so she always had an interest in going to a bigger institution when it came to looking at colleges.

Maeve will be graduating this spring 2023, completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science with a concentration in biotechnology and research. Originally Maeve was drawn to UMass for its great reputation as one of the top pre-veterinary programs in the country with a high percentage of applicants from UMass getting accepted to veterinary schools. In high school Maeve had a passion for veterinary medicine after shadowing multiple veterinarians and having an aptitude for science classes.