Tanya Nguyen, Animal Health Technology 2023 grad

Internship at the CCF in Namibia

One of the highlights of her program was her five-week internship in Namibia, West Africa, home of the largest remaining populations of wild cheetahs on the planet. She interned with the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), an international non-profit organization that works to protect and preserve the cheetah and its ecosystem through a holistic program of conservation, research and education. Thanks to its partnership with Vanier, the CCF offers the possibility of student internships or research projects for almost all Vanier programs.

In Namibia, Tanya put into practice knowledge and skills from her Animal Health Technology Program, and learned new ones. “In the Cheetah Department, we prepared meat for the cheetahs and cleaned their pens. In Ecology, we placed traps for the study of beetles. In Tourism, we worked in the tourist café and helped in the creamery where goat’s milk is transformed into cheese, ice cream, milk and soap, then sold to tourists.”

“Above all, we worked with the vet team caring for animals. Every morning we checked on the health of the flock of goats and sheep. If any animals had abscesses, we drained them. If a goat limped we checked hooves and toes then applied tick grease to kill ticks. When the flocks returned home from a day wandering free in the fields, we pulled out thorns they might have picked up. We also cared for the livestock guarding dogs who deter large predator attacks on farms and ranches. Every day, we fed and walked them, picked up their feces and cleaned their bowls.”

It may sound basic, but it’s essential work for the CCF, and working with the vets and doctorate students, Tanya learned about the biology of cheetahs and their diseases, and about the different fauna in Namibia and the diseases they carry. But her learning went further. “I learned about animals but also about the people and culture of Namibia. It was my first time outside of North America. It was extraordinary!”

Post-graduation plans

Intent on studying veterinary medicine, Tanya is spending the fall and winter at Vanier getting the science prerequisites she needs to apply to the program at Université de Montréal. “I’m very interested in animal pathology, so if I’m not accepted at UdM, I plan to study animal biology at McGill. That way, I will still work on helping animals.”

Thoughts on the program

“Vanier teachers set you up with the best knowledge for your career as a technician. They teach everything you need to know and we are eligible to write the national VTNE certification exam after we complete the program. Employers recognize it and it leads to a higher salary. As well, our AHT training allows us to work in the United States if we wish.”

“It’s a great program but it’s very hard. There is a lot of content and a lot of memorization. To make a proper diagnosis the vet needs to master medical knowledge. But as the assisting technician, you must also know a lot about animal medicine in order to follow the vet’s directives and care for a patient properly.”

Advice to future students

“If you’re really serious, you must love science and learning. You have to be ambitious and you can’t give up. You must really want to care for animals, not just cuddle them. You have to put in the time to acquire the knowledge you need. It will be with you for the rest of your life. When there’s a patient on the table. You need to know what to do then and there!”

Keys to success

“Don’t be too hard on yourself and get a great group of friends to study with. It’s a small program where you can build a community of students, technicians and vets that support and inspire you. And if you have questions about your future, head to Academic Advising. They were great in helping me figure out what I wanted to do and how to get there!”