OSU Veterinary Center welcomes the class of 2014

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

She spent this past summer doing an internship at a mobile veterinary clinic in New Mexico.  As a young person, her favorite part of deer hunting was field dressing the deer and seeing how everything worked inside.  Meet Audra Blasi of Wichita, Kan., one of 82 students in the Class of 2014 at the Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.  

Chosen from an applicant pool of 478 students, 58 Oklahoma residents and 24 nonresidents were selected to begin the fall semester.  This is the first class that includes Early Admit Program students.  The EAP strives to aid students with strong academic ability, committed to a rigorous academic program, in their veterinary medical career development. 

EAP scholars must maintain a 3.5 GPA each academic year while completing their bachelor’s degree and the pre-veterinary course requirements.  During this time, students are teamed with veterinary college faculty to provide guidance and mentorship as well as a current veterinary student.

Audra is an EAP scholar.  She grew up in an urban environment; but since the age of 8-years-old, she spent summers on her uncle’s wheat farm in Nashville, Kan.

“I’m not sure when I decided I wanted to become a veterinarian,” smiles Blasi.  “Seeing all the ranchers back home who had to travel over an hour to reach a veterinarian who didn’t make farm calls made me want to be able to provide a service for them,” adds Blasi.  “They deserve the same level of care as someone with a small animal in the city.”  

Audra earned her undergraduate degree in Animal Science at OSU even though her home state has a veterinary college.

“K State does have an excellent veterinary school, but I attended OSU as an undergrad and really love it here,” says Blasi.  “Plus the people here (OSU’s veterinary college) were so friendly and seemed genuinely excited to have me.  The EAP saving a spot for me was a big factor as I didn’t have the stress of getting in at OSU like I would have had at K State.”

Audra credits several people who have influenced her career choice including the folks at the OSU Dairy, Drs. John Gilliam and Katie Simpson at the veterinary center, and mobile veterinarian Dr. Samantha Uhrig in Carlsbad, N.M.                        

“Dr. Uhrig has shown me what a mobile veterinary service is like.  She has really helped me to see that I do like it and I want to work on all large animals—not just dairy or beef cattle.  She’s been the most insightful person as far as helping me realize what my potential really is.”

Audra also found the mentoring portion of the EAP to be very helpful.

“It was awesome being partnered with a current student.  I was able to see what veterinary school is really like.  The lectures and talks I was able to attend were usually pretty interesting.  Plus, by talking to a current student, you get tips as to what classes in undergrad will help you in vet school (like botany for the GRE Biology) and what classes you don’t need to keep the books from.”

As the fall semester approaches, Audra is excited about veterinary college.

“I will finally learn how different species are made up, what different ailments afflict them and how to help them when they are injured.  I’m looking forward to food animal medicine, but based on my first semester, I’m probably going to like Gross and Developmental Anatomy the most.  Visual/hands-on learning is the best for me.  I am finally starting to learn things I will use for the rest of my life.”

The first two years of veterinary college students spend the majority of time in the classroom.  In their third year, they usually are introduced to small animal surgery on a limited basis.  Their entire fourth year is spent in the OSU Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital gaining clinical experience.

Audra is the daughter of Beth and Norbert Blasi of Wichita. She graduated from Wichita Heights High School in Wichita.  She has received numerous awards including a Nobel Foundation Scholarship (’09), Totesek Top Hand Award (’09), Koch Industries Scholarship (’07), J. Fleming Memorial Scholarship (’07) and the Girl Scout Gold Award (’07), the highest award a Girl Scout can achieve.