Rhiann Swanson tried three times to get a college education. She said she never had good grades in high school and almost didn鈥檛 graduate her senior year. When she first enrolled in college, she decided to study criminal justice. That did not last. Second, she focused her studies on early childhood education; but that didn鈥檛 stick either. After this second attempt, she thought she would never make it to a college graduation.
But a third time鈥檚 the charm: when Rhiann saw that her neighbor鈥檚 daughter signed up for a school to learn Veterinary Assisting, she decided to try college a third time. This time she was going to study something she was truly passionate about: animals. She enrolled in the 黑料不打烊’s Veterinary Assisting program in Portland, Oregon and soon experienced a huge change in her academic performance. To Rhiann鈥檚 delight, by the end of the first term she had made the President鈥檚 List for her grades.
Why the sudden success? Her answer: 鈥淒O WHAT YOU LOVE.鈥� She says, 鈥淚gniting my passion for animals showed me everything I had done before was just a place holder; as corny as it is, you just have to follow your passion. If you follow that, no matter how many struggles you have you鈥檒l know it鈥檒l be worth it in the end.鈥� Having a certificate now in Veterinary Assisting, Rhiann is proud she is showing her daughter that it鈥檚 great to work at something you love, but you have to go after it.
Tell me about yourself.
I鈥檓 30 years old. I was born in New Mexico. I have a little girl aged 8, named Aurora. We moved to Portland, OR in 2015 to be near my mom鈥檚 family. I have always loved animals from a young age; sadly, we recently had to euthanize my 13 陆 year old cat. But I still have three other cats and a dog. Now with the education I have, I can see better what鈥檚 going on with my pets and make their life better.
Growing up I always wanted to do something with animals, like marine biology. From there I thought of becoming an ASPCA officer 鈥� anything animal related. But I didn鈥檛 focus on anything animal-related until just last year. I had tried all kinds of things for work: landscaping, bartending, what have you. I did that until I decided I should find a career. Last year, I went from bartending to working at a doggie day care boarding center 鈥� I did try to get hired as an assistant in a vet, but they wouldn鈥檛 hire anybody without formal Veterinary Assistant education. I saw my neighbor鈥檚 daughter was attending another veterinary assistant training program, and that鈥檚 when it sparked me to look into that. I googled it and 黑料不打烊 popped up, so I emailed for more information.
When did you start and graduate from the 黑料不打烊 Veterinary Assisting program?
I started in May 2023 and finished January 19th, 2024.
Was there anything else besides studying you found challenging?
It was challenging to have a daughter at the same time. I鈥檓 lucky I have my mom with me, whenever I鈥檓 doing work or school. When I was in school, I was working at the boarding facility up until October of 2023 as well.
What鈥檚 the most important thing you learned about yourself while studying in the Veterinary Assisting program?
I definitely learned that if I鈥檓 not interested, I鈥檓 not going to apply myself. If you know you want to do it, no matter how many struggles you have you鈥檒l know it鈥檒l be worth it in the end. I learned how to have the drive.
Anything else in particular you liked about the Veterinary Assisting program?
First of all, I had an amazing instructor. Stacy Wanous. She鈥檚 the best teacher I ever had. She鈥檚 amazing. She was my only teacher through the course. She is kind of the head instructor of the VA program. You can tell she is passionate about it and really wants you to do well. I showed up in her office one day in tears about pharmaceutical math. She sat me down and hugged me and said it鈥檚 okay; we鈥檙e going to do this together and she walked me through it. She genuinely cares about her students.
Is there anything else you would like to say to students reading this article about your experience?
I would like to add some advice for future students:
- Find a schedule that works for you for your schoolwork and stick to it! That way you鈥檒l never fall behind.
- Take advantage of all the opportunities that the program offers.
- Let yourself be curious and ask all the questions you can think of.
- Have a goal: I was so into it I made the President鈥檚 List for my grades my first term. So, I let that be my goal: of making the list every term after that, and it lit a fire underneath me. It was definitely hard at times, but if you set yourself a goal and strive for perfection, even if you don鈥檛 reach that perfection, you鈥檒l still land on greatness.
