Please welcome Stephanie, the newest extern to join the team at Craig Road Animal Hospital! She is also the student rep at Colorado State University (CSU) for other veterinary medical students interested in the extern program at Craig Road.

Stephanie is a fourth-year veterinary student at CSU and will graduate in 2022. She was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and knew from a young age that she wanted to become a veterinarian.

“My grandma once told me that when I used to play with my stuffed animals, I said to every single one of them that one day I was going to cure them all,” Stephanie said.

Stephanie received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, and completed her Master’s in Toxicology at Colorado State. During her undergrad at Rio Piedras, she volunteered at various veterinary clinics to see if veterinary medicine was her passion in life. She’s also worked with the exotics department at Colorado State’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and at an elephant sanctuary in Arkansas.

Currently, Stephanie works at Colorado State’s small animal teaching hospital as a technician. In 2016, Stephanie traveled to Ecuador to volunteer on mobile clinics where they went to different communities to bring medical services. She also used to volunteer weekly at the Children’s Cancer Hospital in her hometown to deliver toys and coloring books to the kids, and coffee or hot chocolate for the family members.

Stephanie said she is most interested in small animal emergency medicine. She heard about the student rep program for Craig Road and decided to join before her externship. Stephanie said she was drawn to the program because it’s at a fast-paced, general practice, something Stephanie would like to work in one day.

“I’m looking forward to learning a lot about the different aspects of animal medicine because as a student, you have all the diagnostic tools you need,” Stephanie said. “I want to reality-check that, like, ‘Okay, here’s what I can really use for this case.'”

In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys a good Netflix binge and cuddling with her Chihuahua-mix dog, Bengie. According to Stephanie, Bengie is a cuddler and loves to meet new people and other pets, especially big dogs.

“He is definitely the love of my life!” Stephanie said.

Welcome to the team, Stephanie!