#AmberIntoVetMed
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Hi everyone, thank you for visiting my go fund me page!
My name is Amber Cordice. I am a 21-year-old zoology graduate from Gravesend, recently receiving a First Class Honours from Anglia Ruskin University. I reapplied to vet school whilst at university and after 8 years of hard work, dedication and determination. I have finally secured my place to study veterinary medicine due to receiving an unconditional offer at Harper & Keele Veterinary School, commencing September 2021. As Veterinary medicine is a competitive course, places are scarce, I have achieved one of the 72 places available out of hundreds of applicants this year. I finally did it!
Many students apply via the graduate entry route when reapplying a second time, however Student Finance England do not issue a tuition fee loan to students studying veterinary medicine as a second degree, despite vets being on the UK occupational shortage list. Therefore funding is out of the question and has become a barrier in making my dream a reality as I am not eligible for a tuition fee loan and have to self-fund my tuition fees of £9,250 each year. Student Finance England does allow second degree students to apply for another maintenance loan, meaning I would have my living costs covered at university. In knowing this, I applied for deferred entry to help fund my degree and despite being working class and my social circumstances I was not willing to give up on my dream.
I Worked profusely through my academic terms and holidays since my A- levels, saving just enough to fund the first year of my veterinary medicine degree. As the course is 5 years, I now need to raise another £37,000 to fund the last four years. Unfortunately, due to being asthmatic I had to resign from my job and isolate during the coronavirus pandemic, had this not been the case I would now be working full-time. I have been searching and applying for remote jobs to create an income until it is safe for me to work in public.
Only 5% of veterinary surgeons worldwide are Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority, with a low representation in the UK. Through persevering in the face of adversity I am close to fulfilling my journey into the veterinary profession, which has a low representation of minority ethnic groups. Being mixed race myself, giving up now would be unjust for the next generation of aspiring veterinary students to come. Therefore, I would be grateful if you could consider supporting my ambition by donating, regardless of how big or small as every contribution makes a big difference! Furthermore, I would be most grateful if you could please share my story across your social media platforms as well as sharing it amongst family and friends. To help me continue to advocate for human and animal health and welfare, to inspire and work alongside the next generation of vets to come, and in being a committed lifelong student to one of the world’s most extensive and ever-changing professions.
Thank you so much for reading my story
Amber
How I aim to make a difference
Being a working-class woman of colour, I believe everyone of different backgrounds should have equal opportunities to accomplish their desired career and aspirations.Therefore on becoming a vet I want to be an advocate and an affiliate for those who shall face the same challenges after me. I also want to contribute to wildlife conservation and the one health initiative, which both encourage the collaboration of human and animal medicine and efforts from different sectors such as education and policy to provide optimal public health outcomes, something which has become more apparent than ever during the covid-19 pandemic.
About Me
I have always known I wanted to be a vet. At 15 years old I experienced what being a veterinary surgeon entails at my first veterinary work placement and was hooked ever since! Six years later, I have gained a plethora of experience within the veterinary and welfare sector, from small, mixed and specialised equine practice to rehoming centres, veterinary laboratories and livestock husbandry. A highlight was gaining a week’s placement at Cambridge University's veterinary laboratories, volunteering at the BlueCross, Meopham veterinary hospital and delivering lambs and calves at Harvel House farm, allowing me to refine my interpersonal and husbandry skills in routine animal care. Due to covid-19 I finished my exams and undergraduate degree online during lockdown. I collected the data for my dissertation on the same farm I gained my livestock experience. I investigated the effect of season and social embedding on gastrointestinal parasite burden in sheep. I was awarded the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) prize for my dissertation project, given in recognition of outstanding achievement and effort in the field of animal welfare science.This research also resulted in a potentially publishable dataset, which I have already presented to an expert audience at the Association of the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) international conference and was the only undergraduate to present their research. I hope to publish this with my supervisor in an animal behaviour journal sometime in the future.
Caption: Helping out at Harvel House Farm during sheep shearing.
Caption: Me with my degree transcript of final grade and acceptance letter form Harper & Keele Veterinary School
Caption: My academic poster that I presented at the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) Summer conference, 2020. It was held online due to covid-19.
Caption: Top - Me on my first ever lambing placement and
Below - Me at the Royal Veterinary College - July 2016. I was awarded a place on the Royal Veterinary College Summer School by the Sutton Trust due to meeting their widening participation criteria and coming from a neighbourhood with a low rate of progression to higher education.
Caption: Me presenting my undergraduate dissertation about parasite burden in sheep.
Caption: My acceptance letter from Harper&Keele Veterinary School
Caption: Email confirmation, notifying me of my UFAW award
My name is Amber Cordice. I am a 21-year-old zoology graduate from Gravesend, recently receiving a First Class Honours from Anglia Ruskin University. I reapplied to vet school whilst at university and after 8 years of hard work, dedication and determination. I have finally secured my place to study veterinary medicine due to receiving an unconditional offer at Harper & Keele Veterinary School, commencing September 2021. As Veterinary medicine is a competitive course, places are scarce, I have achieved one of the 72 places available out of hundreds of applicants this year. I finally did it!
Many students apply via the graduate entry route when reapplying a second time, however Student Finance England do not issue a tuition fee loan to students studying veterinary medicine as a second degree, despite vets being on the UK occupational shortage list. Therefore funding is out of the question and has become a barrier in making my dream a reality as I am not eligible for a tuition fee loan and have to self-fund my tuition fees of £9,250 each year. Student Finance England does allow second degree students to apply for another maintenance loan, meaning I would have my living costs covered at university. In knowing this, I applied for deferred entry to help fund my degree and despite being working class and my social circumstances I was not willing to give up on my dream.
I Worked profusely through my academic terms and holidays since my A- levels, saving just enough to fund the first year of my veterinary medicine degree. As the course is 5 years, I now need to raise another £37,000 to fund the last four years. Unfortunately, due to being asthmatic I had to resign from my job and isolate during the coronavirus pandemic, had this not been the case I would now be working full-time. I have been searching and applying for remote jobs to create an income until it is safe for me to work in public.
Only 5% of veterinary surgeons worldwide are Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority, with a low representation in the UK. Through persevering in the face of adversity I am close to fulfilling my journey into the veterinary profession, which has a low representation of minority ethnic groups. Being mixed race myself, giving up now would be unjust for the next generation of aspiring veterinary students to come. Therefore, I would be grateful if you could consider supporting my ambition by donating, regardless of how big or small as every contribution makes a big difference! Furthermore, I would be most grateful if you could please share my story across your social media platforms as well as sharing it amongst family and friends. To help me continue to advocate for human and animal health and welfare, to inspire and work alongside the next generation of vets to come, and in being a committed lifelong student to one of the world’s most extensive and ever-changing professions.
Thank you so much for reading my story
Amber
How I aim to make a difference
Being a working-class woman of colour, I believe everyone of different backgrounds should have equal opportunities to accomplish their desired career and aspirations.Therefore on becoming a vet I want to be an advocate and an affiliate for those who shall face the same challenges after me. I also want to contribute to wildlife conservation and the one health initiative, which both encourage the collaboration of human and animal medicine and efforts from different sectors such as education and policy to provide optimal public health outcomes, something which has become more apparent than ever during the covid-19 pandemic.
About Me
I have always known I wanted to be a vet. At 15 years old I experienced what being a veterinary surgeon entails at my first veterinary work placement and was hooked ever since! Six years later, I have gained a plethora of experience within the veterinary and welfare sector, from small, mixed and specialised equine practice to rehoming centres, veterinary laboratories and livestock husbandry. A highlight was gaining a week’s placement at Cambridge University's veterinary laboratories, volunteering at the BlueCross, Meopham veterinary hospital and delivering lambs and calves at Harvel House farm, allowing me to refine my interpersonal and husbandry skills in routine animal care. Due to covid-19 I finished my exams and undergraduate degree online during lockdown. I collected the data for my dissertation on the same farm I gained my livestock experience. I investigated the effect of season and social embedding on gastrointestinal parasite burden in sheep. I was awarded the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) prize for my dissertation project, given in recognition of outstanding achievement and effort in the field of animal welfare science.This research also resulted in a potentially publishable dataset, which I have already presented to an expert audience at the Association of the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) international conference and was the only undergraduate to present their research. I hope to publish this with my supervisor in an animal behaviour journal sometime in the future.
Caption: Helping out at Harvel House Farm during sheep shearing.Caption: Me with my degree transcript of final grade and acceptance letter form Harper & Keele Veterinary School
Caption: My academic poster that I presented at the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) Summer conference, 2020. It was held online due to covid-19.
Caption: Top - Me on my first ever lambing placement and
Below - Me at the Royal Veterinary College - July 2016. I was awarded a place on the Royal Veterinary College Summer School by the Sutton Trust due to meeting their widening participation criteria and coming from a neighbourhood with a low rate of progression to higher education.
Caption: Me presenting my undergraduate dissertation about parasite burden in sheep.
Caption: My acceptance letter from Harper&Keele Veterinary School
Caption: Email confirmation, notifying me of my UFAW award
Organizer
Amber Cordice
Organizer
England