Vetnuus | August 2025 25 Q. Who have you mentored and what does that mean? A: I have kids as young as 3 years old come by the clinic to learn about veterinary medicine. Teens in high school and college students have shadowed and spent time with us in the summer. It’s been great to be a mentor for them. At this point in my career, it’s time for me to start helping the next generation in whatever way I can. Q. What advice do you want to pass along to young women interested in veterinary medicine? A: I’ve had so many moms and educators reach out and say, ‘You’ve really inspired our little ones to want to explore veterinary medicine.’ To think that I have some foothold in changing the face of veterinary medicine just by being a live example is amazing. Little girls see me and identify with that. I think it’s great for them to see a woman in veterinary medicine because all my mentors were men, but how much more inspiring would it have been if I had seen a woman doing that? v Dr. Marie Bucko, chief of staff for the chief veterinary officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, responds: Q. Tell me about your job. A: It is a fun and challenging role that requires me to provide strategic direction on policy and program developments, connect the dots for executive leadership, and build relationships both internally to the federal government and externally with our valuable industry stakeholders. It’s exhilarating. Q. When did you want to become a veterinarian? A: Growing up on a farm in Wisconsin laid the foundation and inspiration to pursue veterinary medicine. I loved whenever our farm veterinarian came over to help our horses or during lambing and calving season and stitching up anything that needed it. The National FFA Organization and 4-H propelled me into opportunities that opened up the avenues for veterinarians working in policy, which was incredibly life changing. Q. Who has inspired you? Any specific women in the profession? A: Through every season in my life, women have shaped and impacted my personal and professional worlds. From my greatgrandmother to my mother to my daughter to the women I’ve had the honor of working with and my best friends—there is an underlying theme among all of them. They are women who strike a balance of strength, resilience, empathy, unconditional love for those around them, and honor their values. I’m so blessed to have them in my life, and they continue to inspire me each day. I can only hope to be half the person these women are. They are truly the best. Q. What are your strengths and challenges at this time in your career? A: Strengths evolve and grow. Right now, I’d say it includes building relationships and bringing them to the table to accomplish a bigpicture goal. A challenge includes time management. There’s so much to be done at work and then so much to experience and enjoy in my personal life—there’s just not enough time in the day. When someone invents a machine to create more time, please let me know. I’ll be the first to invest. Q. What advice do you want to pass along to young women interested in veterinary medicine? A: Our profession is so dynamic and it’s proving to be more and more each year. Look at all of the avenues you can take: policy development, clinical practice, research, teaching, business management, Fortune 500 companies, etc. Change does not happen by following the same path. Change happens when we each pave our own paths and push the boundaries of the trail. Get uncomfortable, get dirty, help those next to you to do the same, and create the change you want to see. v Article (Courtesy Miriam Butcher) 24-Hour Toll-Free Helpline: 0800 21 21 21
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