Guest Blog: Seth Williams, Veterinary Student and Creator of Vet School Unleashed Podcast

​I learned an important lesson early in life that I only fully understood when I became an adult and embarked on my journey to becoming a veterinarian.  As a little league baseball player, I was terrified of failing at the plate.  I didn’t want to swing and miss, become embarrassed.  So how did I address this fear?  I simply never swung the bat.  You can imagine how far that got me.  My point is you’ve got to swing the bat, even if you fail over and over.  The only way you’re going to hit the ball is by making an attempt.  If you have an idea, take a swing on it.  Run with it and make it happen.
 
***
 
Why do you get up every day to go to work or school?  What keeps you going back for more?  And conversely, why do you leave situations that don’t make you happy?  Is it the money?  The sense of accomplishment?  The recognition?  The fluffy puppies and kittens we get to play with all day (sense sarcasm here)?  In most cases, it’s the connections we make with our fellow peers, teammates, clients, and patients that make us excited to go to work each day.  As a veterinary student I saw a need to build this connection amongst our student community and find an arena where we could interact.  And thus, the Vet School Unleashed: Dissecting the DVM Podcast was born.
 
In my short two years as a veterinary student, I’ve found that there is plenty room for improvement in terms of the quality and quantity of our interactions with our peers and soon to be colleagues.  Why isn’t there more collaboration amongst veterinary students at other institutions?  Or between veterinary students and (human) medical students?  I don’t know if there is a single, simple answer. However this podcast aims to improve the quality of our connections.
 
The goal of the podcast is to provide an outlet for candid discussions about any and all topics relating to veterinary school and veterinary medicine. According to my research, this type of environment has not existed in the podcast medium until now.  Each episode features a special guest – a fellow veterinary student, veterinarian, consultant, veterinary technician, etc. – to share their experience and expertise on the topic at hand.  The aim is to get us talking about important issues and for others to join in on the conversation. So far, we’ve been able to do just that.
 
The podcast was launched in October 2016 and since then we’ve released ten episodes.  We’ve started with some of the most pressing topics: wellness, addressing imposter syndrome, how to be a more efficient learner, and networking just to name a few.  One of the most influential episodes to me was an interview I conducted with friend and medical student, Clare Brady.  We dove into what makes veterinary school and medical school similar and different.  We talked about the struggles both of our cohorts experience in school and what we’re doing to combat them.  We also helped open the doors to more connection between students in our two professions.  Strikingly, we revealed to each other that our motivations to become doctors were nearly aligned.  It showed that there’s much to learn from each other.  Imagine what such insight from “the other side” could do for each of our careers.
 
In addition to providing a new place for these important discussions, I hope to influence and inspire my fellow veterinary student peers to transform their ideas into a reality.  Each one of us has great ideas that will undoubtedly make great impacts in our career and lives.  Unfortunately, many of these ideas will never get the chance to become a reality.  But why?  The fear of failure?  Lack of time?  While these are certainly valid reasons to delay or disregard putting your ideas into action, I can assure you two things: there is time for anything that is important enough to you.  Even though you may fail at first, you will succeed in the end.  If you have an idea, take a swing on it.  Run with it and make it happen.
 
In the modern era of social media, mobile devices, and the rapidly decreasing necessity for human interaction in many of our daily tasks, it’s not surprising that my fellow millennials are finding it more challenging than our predecessors to build these ever-important personal connections.  Don’t get me wrong, social media is a valuable tool for building connections. But there’s so much more to be had.  More personal interactions not only energize us to do what we love but also play a major role in building our skills and moving our career forward.  So let’s talk more.  Interact more.  Build more connection.  It may not be easy at first, but I promise you that these connections you build and strengthen will help give you the tools and confidence to fulfill your dreams ahead.
 
Creating the Vet School Unleashed podcast has opened doors for me that wouldn’t have opened otherwise.  It has helped me in my own communicating and networking skills. It’s given me the confidence to take a chance on my ideas and make them a reality.  And most of all, it’s made me even more energized and excited to be a veterinarian.
 
***
If you’d like more information on the logistics of setting a podcast or want to discuss anything about the podcast or vet school in more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact me at seth@vetschoolunleashed.com.
 
Seth is a veterinary student at the University of Missouri and will graduate in 2019.  He was born and raised in St. Louis, MO and hopes to build his career and family there after graduation.  His dream is to become a companion animal veterinarian and a practice owner.   When not flooding his brain with veterinary medicine knowledge, Seth enjoys spending time with his wife, Rebecca, and two dogs: Cane and Chase.  Seth also enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking, both making and listening to music, and playing ice hockey.