Gator Vet Camp (for Florida High School Students)
The Gator Vet Camp recognizes talented high school students and provides them with enriching and personal exposure to the veterinary medicine profession and college life. The rigorous activities shared experiences, and challenging exercises enable participants to identify courses important for college readiness and explore careers in veterinary medicine. Gator Vet Camp is a part of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s commitment to providing a diverse and inclusive learning environment through aggressive recruiting of underserved and historically underrepresented communities.
Gator Vet Camp was a great opportunity that provided me with insight into the practical aspects of veterinary medicine, by giving me a mixture of hands-on experiences, and the fun of including non-academic community building activities.
-2022 Gator Vet Camp Participants
Gator Vet Start Mentoring Program (for local rural High School Students)
The overall goal of the Vet Start Mentoring Program is to improve diversity in veterinary medicine by providing profession-specific mentorship and experiential learning to underrepresented high school students from rural areas. During the 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 academic school years students from Newberry High School, and Hawthorne Middle/High School will have the opportunity to participate in this mentorship prgram. Students in the program will connect with College of Veterinary Medicine Faculty and Students for ongoing conversations about the field of Veterinary Medicine and preparing for college. Students will also have the opportunity to shadow their mentors throughout the semester and take part in laboratory activities to learn about antibiotic resistance. The program concludes with a MicroVet School where students will attend two days of Veterinary School at UF and celebrate their accomplishments. Applications for the 2023-2024 academic school year will open in the Spring of 2023. (Coming soon).
This Is How We “ROLE”® (for K- 4th Graders)
This Is How We “Role”® is a program for kids in grades K-4 who are educationally disadvantaged due to socioeconomic status, race, or ethnicity, with the long-term goal of diversifying the veterinarian-scientist workforce. Veterinarians, veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Assistants, and Veterinary students, educate students about the breadth of careers in the veterinary profession, and how we can prevent and treat health conditions that impact both people and their animals. Developed and funded by Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, this program is supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Currently, it is offered at the Caring and Sharing Learning School in Gainesville, FL, with the goal of expanding to other local schools in the Gainesville area. Reach out to Wendy Mesa, DEIA Program Coordinator if you are interested in implementing this after-school program at your local elementary school.
Gator Vet SMART Undergraduate Mentorship (for First Generation and Underrepresented College Freshmen)
Vet Smart Undergraduate Program was developed to build a community of students interested in veterinary medicine and provide them with academic support, research opportunities, and experiences with animals and veterinarians that will help them be highly competitive applicants for the UF College of Veterinary Medicine. Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year will be available Fall of 2023. (Coming soon)
BRUMS Biomedical Research Program
BRUMS is an 8-week program offered during the Spring 2023 semester designed for full-time first and second-year students at the University of Florida. The program provides hands-on training on basic molecular techniques used in biomedical research and a series of guest speakers from the UF Health Colleges.The objectives of the program are three-fold: to instill interest in biomedical research during the early stages of the undergraduate program, help find a research mentor to gain further research experience, and attract underrepresented students to professional programs, in particular to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program at the University of Florida. Applications close on January 25, 2023.
