My name is Kristen Hasegawa and I graduated from NCSU in the Fall 2018 with a B.S. in Animal Science with a concentration in Veterinary Bioscience. I was born and raised in Maui, Hawaii. Growing up, my life revolved around music. I was involved in multiple ensembles, most of which I held a leadership position in or was principal. In fact, it came as a shock to some of my high school classmates and teachers when I told them I was getting a degree in Animal Science rather than music. In Fall 2019, I will be attending Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

When I first started school at NCSU in 2015, I had no animal or veterinary experience. I gained majority of my animal and veterinary experience in NC starting with the Turtle Rescue Team at the NCSU CVM. Along the way, I gained more experience in other fields such as volunteering with a large animal veterinarian, working at the Equine Education Unit, and being an intern at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Outside of the realm of animal science, I was involved with various cultural clubs. I coordinated Hawaii Night with Japan Club for the Asian American Pacific Islander Month during my second and third year, where I taught students about Hawaiian culture.

Compared to my classmates and other applicants, my list of experiences is probably shorter; however, the reason why I was able to gain so many types of experience in 3.5 years was all thanks to NCSU. NCSU offers many different unique opportunities that not many other institutions have; and if there was something I was interested in that the college did not offer, the faculty directed me to specific people who could help me.

Diverse experiences are important when applying, but GPA, letters of recommendation, and your activities outside of the veterinary profession also weigh in the process. It’s important to stay balanced in each category in order to be a competitive applicant.

Veterinary/Research Experience

Turtle Rescue Team volunteer

Large Animal Mobile Practice

Small Animal General Hospital

Small Animal Mobile Practice

NCMNS Intern

Research volunteer at NCSU Research Facility

Swine nutrition assistant

Animal Experience

Equine Education Unit volunteer

Dairy Education Unit volunteer

NCSU Study Abroad Ireland: Global Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture

Degree

B.S. Animal Science conc. Veterinary Bioscience

Honors/Awards

Dean’s List (every semester)

Magna Cum Laude

CALS Student Spotlight

Extracurricular Activities

Companion Animal Club Activities Chair

NCSU VetPAC Intern

Japan Club Member