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Blendvetfoundation Opening Doors to Veterinary Careers–One Student at a Time🩺🐾 For students, families & educators | 501(c)(3) Nonprofit

20/08/2026

Does your middle or high school student love animals? 🐾💜

They may already know they want a future working with animals — but they may not know just how many paths are available.

Krishna Eason traveled from Honolulu, Hawaii, to California with her daughter to experience blendVET® Foundation’s Believe & Belong in Veterinary Medicine Youth® Pathways program.

And while her daughter explored veterinary medicine, Krishna discovered something too:

“I didn’t even know that there were just so many career fields available to her.”

That’s the power of exposure.

Believe & Belong gives young people opportunities to explore veterinary medicine, meet people in the profession and discover career possibilities they may never have considered before.

And parents get to learn right alongside them.

As Krishna said: “It doesn’t have to be a race. It’s just a marathon until she finds her passion.”

Have a middle or high school student in your life who loves animals?

Keep their exploration going with VETtalks — our free virtual learning experience that helps studentsand their families learn about veterinary career paths.

🐾 Enroll in VETtalks today and help them discover what’s possible.

“I thought we were celebrating a milestone. Instead, I left believing we had found a new model for building the future v...
18/08/2026

“I thought we were celebrating a milestone. Instead, I left believing we had found a new model for building the future veterinary workforce.”
Dr. Niccole Bruno reflects on what happened when UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine opened its doors to middle and high school students for blendVET® Foundation’s Believe & Belong in Veterinary Medicine Youth® Pathways program — and how the experience changed the way she thinks about building the future veterinary workforce.

"We may be asking the wrong workforce question.

For decades, we have talked about veterinary workforce shortages primarily through the lens of recruitment: How do we enroll more students? How do we retain professionals? How do we fill open positions?

Those are important questions. But what if the workforce challenge does not begin at veterinary school?

What if it begins years earlier — when young people are exploring careers and deciding which futures they believe are possible for them?"

👉🏽Get Dr. Bruno’s full perspective in the next issue of The Belonging Brief.

Find out what blendVET® Foundation built to test this idea, what happened when a veterinary school opened its doors, how a parent program grew into college admission guidance, why veterinary students are becoming workforce multipliers — and the model Dr. Bruno now thinks every veterinary college should consider.

13/08/2026

For some students, seeing someone who looks like them in veterinary medicine can change what they believe is possible.

Gabriela Monico, a fourth-year veterinary student at the
UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, knows that firsthand.

“I never saw a veterinary professional that looked like me," she says.

That’s why representation is such an important part of blendVET Foundation’s Believe & Belong in Veterinary Medicine Youth Pathways program.

Our volunteers do more than share what they know. They help middle and high school students see real people, real career paths and a place for themselves in veterinary medicine.

You can be that person for a student.

Volunteer with blendVET Foundation and help the next generation believe they belong in veterinary medicine.

🔗 Learn more and become a volunteer.

13/08/2026

Breaking barriers matters. Helping the next generation navigate them matters even more.

In this interview spotlight, Dr. Nancy Sanders, the first Black female that is double board-certified in both internal medicine and emergency/critical care, reflects on her own journey in veterinary medicine and what it means to now pour into those coming behind her.

“Being there to help others...is important," says Dr. Sanders.

That perspective is powerful.

Representation is not only about seeing someone who looks like you in the profession. It is about having mentors, advocates and leaders who understand the barriers students may face and are willing to help make the path forward more visible and possible.

Through programs like our Believe and Belong in Veterinary Medicine Youth Pathways, we're helping the next generation of veterinary professionals see where they can go — and connect with people who can help them get there.

And you're help is needed. Consider donating to the blendVET Foundation. Every donation supports barrier-breaking Youth Pathways programs, educational programming and future careers for youth.

11/08/2026

Sometimes, seeing a career path starts with meeting someone who has already walked it.

Naseeb Gill is an incoming third-year veterinary student at UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine . She's also our blendVET® Foundation summer intern and knows firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate the journey to veterinary school without a clear roadmap.

As a first-generation student, Naseebh volunteered with the Believe and Belong in Veterinary Medicine® Youth Pathways program to help make that journey a little more visible for the students coming behind her.

“Being able to inspire young students to pursue veterinary medicine — and science in general — is really important to me.”

That’s what Youth Pathways is built to do: connect young people with experiences, mentors and possibilities they may not otherwise see.

06/08/2026

The future of veterinary medicine depends on more than introducing students to the profession. It requires showing them that they belong in it—and surrounding them with people who will help them move forward.

“Our industry doesn’t have a big diversity of ideas and a diversity of experience,” says David Gladstein, Cofounder and President of VEG. “The only way to change that is by going to middle schools and high schools and teaching what veterinary medicine is, what it can provide and what we accomplish.”

Through early exposure, hands-on learning and meaningful connections with veterinary professionals, the blendVET Foundation is helping students envision a future they may not have believed was possible.

“We’re raising confident future veterinary professionals who know what they want and what career path they want—but they also know they have a network that’s going to support them,” says Dr. Niccole Bruno, Founder and Executive Director of blendVET Foundation.

Sponsors like VEG ER for Pets and Purina ONE make these career-shaping experiences possible.
Give Forward. Become a Sponsor.

It is volunteer youth mentors like veterinary technician, Jhanae who make an impact on the future of the veterinary prof...
05/08/2026

It is volunteer youth mentors like veterinary technician, Jhanae who make an impact on the future of the veterinary profession! Thank you for all that you do!

04/08/2026

Mentorship gives students more than career guidance—it helps them see that they belong in veterinary medicine.

As Dr. Gerald Givan shared, “What I tell any student is, ‘If I can do it, then you can do it.’” For him, mentoring is about giving back and creating a meaningful connection—even if just one student out of 100 walks away believing in a new possibility. Gerald M. Givan

Dr. Kayla Anderson reflected on what she experienced as a student: “There was no one who looked like me. They didn’t make me feel comfortable or safe to ask questions.”

Today, she is helping create the experience she did not have—one where students feel seen, supported, and excited to explore the many possibilities within veterinary medicine.

One mentor can help change a student’s path.
Become the mentor you wish you had.
Volunteer for our upcoming Youth Pathways. Advocate. Get involved.

31/07/2026

Someone inspired your journey. A mentor, teacher, colleague, or veterinary professional believed in you before you believed in yourself. Now it's your turn.

By volunteering with our Believe and Belong in Veterinary Medicine® Youth Pathways program, you'll help students discover the possibilities within veterinary medicine through meaningful conversations, hands-on experiences, and real-world career exploration.

👉🏾You don't have to change the world in a day—you just have to show up.
👉🏾Sometimes, one conversation is all it takes to spark a future career.

🐾 Become a Youth Pathways Volunteer and help inspire the next generation of veterinary professionals.

📅 September 11, 2026
📍High Tech Middle School
Chula Vista
⏰7:45 AM - 4 PM PST

Sign up to volunteer!

Can't make it? Tag a colleague who would make an incredible mentor, and help us spread the word!

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91909–91915, 91921

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