Please welcome, Morgan! She’s the newest extern to join the Craig Road Animal Hospital team!

Morgan is a fourth-year veterinary medical student at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, located at Virginia Tech, and will graduate in 2022. She’s a native of Virginia and grew up in the northern part of the state, close to the Washington, D.C. area. Morgan said she’s always wanted to work in animal medicine and worked at a clinic in her hometown as a way to get her foot in the door.

She worked as a veterinary assistant and eventually took on some of the responsibilities of a veterinary technician.

“I also love problem-solving, and so animals and problem-solving seemed like a natural combination of the two for my career in veterinary medicine,” Morgan said. She grew up with a variety of animals, including a dog, a cat, a couple of snakes, mice, rabbits, a parrot, rats, and hamsters.

She received her Bachelor’s from Virginia Tech as a Pre-Veterinary student before starting vet school. Aside from her work at the clinic, Morgan has done some work in shelter medicine and taking care of the animals. She also did an externship in Alaska, traveling to small communities offering veterinary services like wellness exams, vaccines, and spays/neuters.

“My background is mostly general practice, but I’d like more about critical care and emergency care,” Morgan said. She said she’d also like to learn more about different surgeries and surgery techniques.

She heard about the externship program at Craig Road from Dr. Goldfield, a graduate of Virginia-Maryland. According to Morgan, Dr. Goldfield spoke during one of her classes about what life was like after graduation and mentioned the extern program at Craig Road.

“It seemed like a really great way to go!” Morgan said. Now that she’s here for her externship, she said she’s looking forward to learning how other doctors and professionals practice animal medicine so she can adapt to what works best for her.

In her spare time, Morgan enjoys fishing, painting, drawing, and hiking with her 6-year-old Husky mix named Teddy.

Welcome aboard, Morgan!