For Dr. Zachary Dvornicky-Raymond, a profession in conservation might have been an inevitability. An animal lover for so long as he can keep in mind, Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond recollects watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet as a toddler and idolizing Steve Irwin. “As I grew up and was attending zoos and studying extra concerning the world, I got here to appreciate that all the animals that I liked and was so curious about have been disappearing. So I all the time knew I needed to determine a manner to assist them.” Whereas he was sure he needed to work in wildlife conservation as a toddler, he wasn’t positive how. Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond notes that he all the time liked the sciences, particularly biology, rising up. He then determined to go to varsity to pursue a serious in biology, realizing that he would sometime apply it to conservation. Via some formative experiences in undergrad, together with a heartfelt dialogue with our personal Dr. Abou-Madi when he was a zookeeper intern, he discovered that he may merge two main pursuits: drugs and conservation. His exhausting work paid off when he obtained a telephone name one wintry morning from Dr. Beth Bunting — he had been supplied a spot in Cornell Vet’s Class of 2019. To him, this was a dream come true; he accepted.
Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond is especially grateful for the chance he needed to develop his pursuits throughout his eight years at Cornell. In vet faculty, a few of his favourite programs included Conservation Medication, Captive Wildlife Administration, and a variety of enormous animal and manufacturing programs. He calls these home animal programs “simply as vital on your growth as a zoological veterinarian” as extra overtly zoo-related programs. Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond served as Vice President of the Zoo and Wildlife Society, throughout which era he co-developed the WildLIFE Weblog. He was additionally Vice President of the Theriogenology Membership throughout his time as a pupil and took on alternatives to proceed growing his analysis abilities, together with an Increasing Horizons challenge in Namibia working with the Cheetah Conservation Fund. “We’re sitting on a gold mine at Cornell,” he says of the Increasing Horizons Program. “The chance to go overseas as a vet pupil and have company in a challenge and work on one thing utterly novel to you is an expertise that’s utterly value it, whether or not or not you need to work overseas.”
Zoo/wildlife-related experiences apart, Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond additionally emphasizes “leaning into issues that aren’t essentially simply {of professional} curiosity, however that additionally converse to the guts.” This spirit of exploration must also, in his opinion, inform externship selections. “Do one thing that you just undoubtedly need to do and do one thing considerably associated to it that you just’re unsure about.” For Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond, this included an externship at a conventional zoological establishment, the Brookfield Zoo, and a preceptorship at White Oak Conservation Middle. Via these experiences, Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond got here to like inhabitants drugs and the semi-free ranging wildlife mannequin. College additionally play an integral function within the self-discovery course of. “Finally individuals are school at Cornell for a cause. They need to be there they usually should be there. You realize they labored exhausting to get there they usually need to assist. They need to nurture.” College at Cornell performed an integral function in serving to him select his subsequent steps after receiving his DVM. 
After commencement, Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond accomplished a small animal rotating internship at VCA West Los Angeles to “acquire confidence and competence in my medical abilities.” He’s fast to emphasise the numerous potential pathways to a profession in conservation drugs, together with internships in massive animal and equine drugs. After finishing his first internship, Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond went on to Colorado State College to finish a zoological drugs and surgical procedure specialty internship, all whereas the pandemic was turning the veterinary neighborhood and the world at massive the other way up. “Studying extrapolate data and studying work in utterly novel situations have been the largest issues that I took away from that.” From there, Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond felt known as to return to his love for population-based drugs, and located Fossil Rim Wildlife Middle to be the perfect subsequent vacation spot. His present function because the David E. Wildlt Fellow in Zoological Medication there offers him an abundance of alternatives. “This place is superb, and having the ability to take all of that drugs that I discovered previously two years and now apply it in a unique setting with new challenges is absolutely personally fulfilling. And I’m beginning to get a greater appreciation for what it means to be a veterinarian because it pertains to conservation, which is absolutely cool.”
Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond continues to be charting the course he needs to comply with when his time at Fossil Rim ends, however for him the unsure, ever-evolving nature of conservation is a part of what makes the work so particular. Whereas he’s a fan of umbrella and keystone species and is especially drawn to his favourite animal, the tiger, he’s thrilled by the numerous methods to assist save wild locations and species. “There’s a lot to know, to be taught, and to attempt. I’ve the veterinary drugs half down, however that isn’t the end-all-be-all on the subject of saving animals. Conservation is about folks. And in order that’s the side of One Well being that I haven’t spent as a lot time with. I’ve obtained a reasonably good deal with on one-third of it, however there’s two-thirds left and I would like to have the ability to work with a transdisciplinary crew and proceed to develop. I don’t know the place I’m going to be in a yr and that makes me nervous, however I do know the place I need to be. And so long as I preserve my eye on the North Star, I feel will probably be okay. This world is altering very quickly and individuals are beginning to concentrate to One Well being and the well being of our ecosystems, so I’m hopeful that that interprets into a necessity. You’ll be able to solely stay hopeful, and I encourage you to remain hopeful.”
Whereas the years since his commencement have been action-packed, it wasn’t way back that Dr. Dvornicky-Raymond was in our footwear, and he’s wanting to share his recommendation for present vet college students. First, preserve an open thoughts. “Being a conventional zoo vet at a zoo is one pathway. There are such a lot of alternative ways which you can have an effect on the pure world and on wildlife conservation that aren’t simply being a zoo vet. So don’t be discouraged by folks that say there aren’t any jobs in zoological drugs. These folks have a really slim sight. They’re not pondering large enough.” The present state of the world, he says, requires novel options to issues, and he believes that there’s a place for everybody and their distinctive abilities on this sphere. “Don’t really feel like you must go all-or-nothing, so long as you’re doing one thing. When you care about it, discover some approach to get entangled.” For his parting recommendation, he’s keen to veer into sentimental territory. “Observe your coronary heart. I do know I sound like a Disney character proper now. You’re going to listen to a variety of naysayers and also you’re going to come across a variety of challenges, however do not forget that on the finish of those challenges is a lifetime of no matter you select to do. And you must just be sure you are fulfilled in doing that. There are methods that every individual differs that may information you to the place you’re purported to be. So comply with your coronary heart and don’t let folks let you know what to do.”
Colleen Sorge, Class of 2024, is initially from Lengthy Island, NY. She graduated with a B.S. in Animal Science and a minor in English from Cornell College. She usually finds herself lacking her humanities programs in vet faculty and is thrilled she will mix her passions for writing and for veterinary drugs because the WildLIFE Weblog Editor.
