Meet Georgia: IMV Imaging's Student Brand Ambassador
Georgia Discusses Her Veterinary School Journey, Bridging Gaps, and Aspirations and what she looks forward to as an IMV Imaging Student Brand Ambassador
Hi there! I’m Georgia, a fourth-year student studying Veterinary Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and I am so excited to be working alongside IMV imaging as their new student brand ambassador! I hope that by working alongside IMV, we can help give students more confidence in their imaging techniques before going out into practice and help tailor resources to help them achieve their own personal aims when it comes to imaging in a fun and practical way.
About me
My journey to Vet School has been quite unconventional, to say the least. Like many others, I knew from a very early age that a career as a veterinarian was something that I really wanted to pursue, but it wasn’t quite the journey I had imagined!
Whilst at school, I didn’t achieve the highest marks during my GCSEs meaning I fell short of the grades required to study Science at A level and was forced into taking unrelated subjects that meant I could not apply to Vet School. I knew that if I was ever going to become a Vet, I needed to make a big change, so once I turned 17, I left school to retake my GCSEs at a college in Birmingham. I had to move away from my family home and live with my grandparents to cut down on travel costs. It was a big adjustment at the time, but reflecting now it is something that I wouldn’t change for the world!
I studied hard and got the grades I needed to take Biology & Chemistry at A level at my new school. I worked hard on my personal statement, got over 12 weeks’ worth of experience and managed to keep up a part time job, and two volunteering jobs! I sat my A level exams but unfortunately missed my grades for Vet School, so once again I had to figure out how to make my dream of becoming a veterinarian a reality.
I decided to pursue a degree in Bioveterinary Science at the RVC and graduated with a 2:I after three hard years of studying. I managed to secure a space to study Veterinary Medicine at the RVC, which is where I am now, and absolutely loving every second! Although the journey to where I am today was long, stressful and times heart-breaking, it has made me into the person I am today, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity now to help those around me.
Coming from a very ordinary, working-class background I was made aware early on about the barriers that make applying to vet school so difficult for so many people i.e. a significant lack of support for students like me who had the determination, but needed extra TLC when it came to the academics & application process. This is what lead me to create @thevetstudentnetwork, a free tutoring & guidance service provided by myself to help students from non-privately school educated background with their applications to vet school.
I took on 5 students in my first year and helped guide them through their application process, how to write personal statements & secure work experience and held mock interviews to help build their confidence for the real deal. The students were talented, young individuals that just needed an extra boost to get them over the finish line and send in their applications to vet school. It was incredible to hear that so many of them had gotten interviews & offers after the journey we had been on together and I am so proud of all of them!
Social Media
I started taking social media and Instagram a tad more seriously just before I joined vet school during lockdown! I had plenty of spare time over the summer to think about what type of content I wanted to create and decided to just take the plunge and go for it. I have met so many amazing people online and have been able to help many future vet students with advice. It also has proved to be an amazing creative outlet where I have been able to curate content and allowed me to start developing my own personal ‘brand’. I have also been fortunate enough to attend some of the biggest veterinary shows in the UK, which is where I was first introduced to the IMV team! For anyone thinking of starting a social media account, whether they are a vet student, vet nurse or veterinarian, I would say just go for it as you never know where or what it made lead to!
What does the future hold?
Since starting university, I have found a real passion for farm animal medicine. I am not from a farming background, but I enjoyed the chance to get stuck in on farm during my pre-clinical placements, whether it be in the lambing shed or milking dairy cows. This led me to get more involved with my universities farm animal society and become the president of the National Farm Animal Veterinary Society (FAVS). Becoming part of societies is something
that I have enjoyed this time around at university and has led to so many amazing networking opportunities. I have also really enjoyed being behind the scenes and helping run the society’s day-to-day operations, alongside organising amazing events for students to attend and share their passion for farm animal medicine. Currently, I can see myself leaning towards becoming a large animal veterinarian in the future, but the mixed practice has also intrigued me for a long time and is something that I would like to explore a bit more before graduation. I am looking forward to undertaking more EMS this year and starting rotations in the new year where I hope to build on my clinical skills and gain more experience as a veterinarian.
Working alongside IMV will be a great opportunity to connect with other students and share handy resources & tips to help them grow in confidence with their imaging. Imaging is something that most students are apprehensive about, especially with new technology coming out so frequently, so this will be a fantastic opportunity to see which areas students need help with the most and get everyone involved in a new & exciting way.
We’re thrilled to have Georgia as part of the IMV Imaging Brand Ambassador team! Follow @thesecretvet on social media for an inside look at her university journey and the exciting projects she’s collaborating on with us at IMV Imaging.
