My name is Jen Gallus, and I am excited to be the incoming University of Minnesota SCAVMA President. I have been involved in SCAVMA the last two years, as a class representative and then as President-Elect. I look forward in my new role to working closely with the MVMA.

This is actually my second career. Before starting vet school, I spent ten years working as an occupational therapist in an acute care setting as well as an outpatient therapist for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis. While I enjoyed my work, what I really wanted was to become a veterinarian. After spending a couple of years taking pre-requisite classes and working in a small animal clinic, I was fortunate to be admitted to the class of 2012. I still continue to keep my OT license up to date and work a couple days a month at Regions Hospital.

I entered vet school with the intention of becoming a small animal veterinarian. I had no idea how many different opportunities are available in veterinary medicine. I haven't yet decided how I am going to track, or if I am going to do an internship or residency. Right now I'm just enjoying learning more about this wonderful field.

I am very interested in international veterinary medicine. I was fortunate to spend five weeks last summer in Thailand, three weeks of which I volunteered at a wildlife rehabilitation center. It was an amazing experience that included hand raising three leopard cats starting at a couple of days old. This upcoming summer I will be going to Panama to work with a spay/neuter program in Panama City. While there I will also be doing research on transmissible venereal tumors. I hope to continue volunteering internationally throughout my career.

I grew up on the metro area but have lived in Minneapolis for the last ten years. I currently live in South Minneapolis with my boyfriend, a perfect cat, Chewy, and our stubborn and crazy basset hound, Barkley. I love to try out new restaurants and enjoy attending theater events, dance performances, and concerts or exploring the parks and trail systems. I am currently training for the Minneapolis Half marathon in June and looking forward to some relaxation in Curacao over spring break.