Meaningful Relationships Shape Texas A&M Veterinary Student’s Career In Large Animal Surgery

Story by Megan Bennett, VMBS Marketing & Communications

As a lifelong lover of horses and with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree almost in hand, Park Phillips is on track to achieve his dream of becoming a large animal surgeon.

The fourth-year veterinary student at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has spent years working toward his career goals, with his education, mentors, and extracurricular experiences all playing influential roles.

After walking the graduation stage this May, he’ll begin the next step in his journey as an intern veterinarian at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Los Olivos, California.

Finding Early Influences

Growing up in Madisonville, Texas, Phillips was surrounded by horses, cattle, dogs, and cats on his family’s land. 

“I was raised around horses and I rode quite a lot,” he said. “I also showed horses in the western performance division and stock horse events.”

The idea of becoming a veterinarian began to take shape at an early age, largely because of a couple key people in his life.

“There were some veterinarians who were pretty big influences; they were people I admired and looked up to outside of the veterinary profession as well,” he said. “This included Dr. Michael Martin (a former VMBS associate professor) and Dr. Dan Posey (a VMBS clinical professor and the director of student recruitment and professional relationships).

“Dr. Posey is one of my stepdad’s really good friends and had a vet clinic in Madisonville for a long time, so that’s how I first got to know him,” Phillips said. “Later on, he helped coach me for vet school interviews and helped me with applying for scholarships. He’s just such a positive individual and a great role model.”

As he began working toward an animal science degree at Texas A&M, Phillips decided to put his passion to the test by taking a shadowing position at Texas Equine Hospital in Bryan. There, he met Drs. Cliff Honnas and Nathan Canada, who also became important influences.

“I was going down the path to become a veterinarian, but it wasn’t until I got to Texas Equine Hospital that it solidified in my mind,” he said. “It’s a fast-paced referral facility, so we saw everything.  It’s hard work but I just loved it. I looked up to all the veterinarians I worked with and imagined myself being a vet just like them.”

Embracing The Aggie Spirit

During his undergraduate years, Phillips found himself falling in love with Texas A&M, especially Fish Camp, a four-day orientation camp that introduces incoming freshmen to Texas A&M’s traditions and core values. In addition to attending Fish Camp as a freshman, he also served as a counselor in his sophomore, junior, and senior years.


  “I loved sharing all the traditions with students who were coming into school and making sure that they at least had an idea of the love that comes with being an Aggie,” he said. “That love for Texas A&M is part of what made me want to do vet school here, too.”

When it came time to apply for veterinary school, Posey’s influence also led Phillips to choose the VMBS’ 2+2 DVM program, through which he would spend his first two years at the VMBS’ Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO) campus in Canyon, Texas — his first time living outside of the Brazos Valley.

“I love College Station, but it was time for me to go and experience something else for a while and have a little change of scenery,” he said.

VERO also proved to be the perfect place for Phillips because of the small class sizes and family-like community.

“I’m not usually the one to ask questions in class, but it was easier to do in a smaller group,” Phillips said. “You also didn’t have to make an appointment to go talk with professors. I found a lot of value in that because I was able to get close with the people who were leading us in our education journeys.

“The best things I got from VERO are my closest friends,” he continued. “You always ask questions like, ‘What if I did things differently? What if I went to a different school or went to vet school in College Station for all four years?’ But I definitely wouldn’t have changed my decision — if not for the education, then for the relationships I made with classmates and faculty.”

Making The Most Of Every Experience

Although Phillips’ first love is horses, he decided to use his time at the VMBS to explore a secondary career interest in food animal medicine. 

“I did an externship the summer after first year at Elgin Veterinary Hospital in Elgin, Texas, on the food animal side,” he said. “I had a great time learning food animal medicine but equine is my first love.”

During his final year of the DVM program, Phillips was excited to finally put his knowledge and skills to the test through clinical rotations at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. However, one of his favorite experiences has been externing at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

“It’s a brand new program to introduce young vets to the field so rodeo committees will be willing to give young vets a chance,” Phillips said. “It was a whole lot of fun and a great experience to meet a bunch of different vets who work the big-name rodeos like those in San Antonio and Pendleton.

“Primarily, we helped make go-bags for the different arenas in town,” he said. “These bags included supplies for evacuating animals efficiently and safely in case a problem happened in the arena. We also saw to the care of the participating animal athletes behind the scenes and practiced drills to determine things like where we would bring a truck in and how we would evacuate people and animals.”

He also loved his equine clinical rotations and even the small animal emergency medicine rotation, to his surprise. As the year wraps up, though, he’s most excited for what comes next. 

Taking The Next Steps

After commencement on May 7, Phillips will be moving out of Texas for the first time to begin his equine internship in California. After that, he hopes to further hone his skills by completing a residency in large animal surgery — one that would allow him to explore his food animal interest as well.

 

“I would like to do a program that sees both food animals and horses; that just aligns better with my goals,” he said. “I know a lot of equine vets who still see cattle, even in their solely equine practices, and that’s what I would want to do as well.”

Reflecting on his veterinary journey, Phillips notes that the connections he has made have been instrumental to getting him to where he is now. 

“The network I formed at VERO helped my career goals because VERO offered ease of access to faculty who could provide good mentorship and suggest other people to form connections with,” he said. “Without some of the connections I made at VERO, I may not have met the veterinarian who allowed me the opportunity to work alongside them at the National Finals Rodeo.”

In addition to being thankful for everyone who has supported him so far, Phillips is equally excited for the next stage of his veterinary journey and all the new connections he’s sure to make.


This story by Megan Bennett originally appeared on VMBS News.