Hana Crawford
"The staff are helpful and understanding. I have a great tutor, but if I had any issue, I could go to any lecturer and they would help. Surrey has a great community and you do not feel alone."
Studying at Surrey
I like how transferable and intellectually challenging veterinary medicine is. I’m passionate about animals, science and One Health and these are all incorporated into the subject.
I really like the structure of the course - the first year is all about the normal, the second the abnormal and third year focuses on bringing in clinical knowledge. It’s a good layout! Along with this, I've also met some great people who will be lifelong friends.
The staff are helpful and understanding. I have a great tutor, but if I had any issue, I could go to any lecturer and they would help. Surrey has a great community and you do not feel alone.
Real-world opportunities
One of my favourite animal handling placements was on a dairy farm, I learnt so much about the work a farmer does and felt part of the team. It was an insightful experience and feeding the calves and assisting in the birth of a calf was an amazing experience.
My clinical placements so far have consisted of shadowing nurses and vets, but I have had a lot of opportunities to get involved. My highlights include scrubbing into surgery, discussing cases with vet staff to expand my knowledge and experiencing the role of an equine ambulatory vet which was an eye-opening experience.
In July I will be going to the Maldives to work with sea turtles, I enjoy working with wildlife and this is going to be an amazing experience for me.
My societies
I’m part of the Equestrian and Polo Club, and I’m also Vice President of the OneHealth Society.
I’m super excited to get started on the OneHealth Society, I have a lot of ideas and Surrey is a great place for me to action and fulfil them.
I didn’t grow up around horses and hadn’t much exposure to them before starting at Surrey. The Equestrian and Polo Club is a great way for me to gain confidence around horses, meet new people and get involved. It's so much fun playing polo, you get on a horse and forget about everything else going on in the world.
Finding my passion
We went on a exotics practical in my second year to Merrist Wood College and it was such an amazing experience. We got to learn about and handle a range of exotic animals, my favourite being a bearded dragon and I felt complete joy. I’m so happy Surrey had this practical because it introduced me to exotics and made me realise I would like to work with exotic animals in the future.
I think Surrey has impacted my employability, when I graduate I will become a professional with a great future ahead of me.
