Emily Ross is not a fan of rodents, but she has developed an allergy to gerbils.
“They are very friendly,” the Emmaus High School student said.
Ross and her colleagues at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute care for three gerbils living in their laboratory room as part of the school's animal science program.
“Because I'm able to interact with them and learn more about the species of animals themselves, I feel more comfortable with the rodents now,” Ross said, noting that she no longer “pains” when she touches the animals.
The Animal Sciences program at LCTI, which is in its second year, offers students the opportunity to learn about animals while earning seven college credits through a partnership with Lehigh Carbon Community College. Lehigh County students who wish to participate as seniors in the upcoming school year can apply online through January 5.
“The goal is to prepare them to work with animals,” said Gina Minto, an animal sciences professor at LCTI.
Students spend half of each school day at LCTI participating in the Animal Science program, which includes integrated dual enrollment classes through LCCC – students take a biology course in the fall and technology and veterinary terminology courses in the spring.
If students choose to enroll in the college's veterinary technician program upon graduation, the credits earned while in the technical school's animal science program count toward their associate degree. Students who wish to work as a veterinarian upon completion of the college program must pass the National Veterinary Technician Examination.
Veterinary technicians do many of the same things as veterinarians, except make diagnoses, perform surgeries, and prescribe medications. They can draw blood, take X-rays, calculate medication doses, assist with surgeries and monitor anesthesia, among other tasks.
There are also many different settings in which veterinary technicians can work, including small or large animal general practices, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and research facilities.
Ross said she is considering the LCCC program and wants to become a vet tech in part because she loves working with people as well as animals.
“I feel like this is the thing that suits me best, to be able to talk to customers and comfort them when they're upset, or have a conversation with them,” she said.
While the animal science program is geared toward preparing students to become veterinary technicians — also called veterinary nurses — there are many animal-related careers that students can pursue, from an animal trainer to a farrier, to someone trained in caring for horses' hooves.
“They are getting hands-on experience in a career they may want to pursue,” said Carol Vacchiano, Parkland School Board President and LCTI Joint Operating Committee Chair. “It's all about opportunity.”
The animal science program is ideal for “someone who has a passion for animals,” Vaciano said [and] He wants to take care of them.”
Through the program, students receive classroom lectures in which they learn about animal breeds and the meanings of some animal behaviors.
Students also get experience using dog and cat models to practice placing themselves and the animals in different actions. They learn how to muzzle a dog and feel its pulse using a model as well.
In addition to the gerbils in the classroom, students also care for two guinea pigs and a rabbit as part of the program.
“Students are responsible for cleaning their barn, checking on the animals and making sure they are okay and healthy, and feeding the animals as well,” Minto said.
Students keep a record of the animals' weights and monitor for any health concerns.
“I definitely learned different things about their behaviors and things that I didn't know before, and more about their personalities as time went on,” Ava Staub, a senior at Northwestern Lehigh High School, said of the class animals.
Minto said the animals are helpful for students who don't have pets at home and can provide emotional support if a student is having a bad day.
As part of the course, students also regularly take behind-the-scenes tours of area animal facilities, such as the Lehigh Valley Zoo, the sanctuary in Haffsville, and the Eastern Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Center. The class also goes on a field trip to the University of Pennsylvania Large Animal Veterinary Site.
In the second half of the academic year, students have two career opportunities where they shadow a veterinarian or veterinary technician for a few days. Some work sites include Macungie Animal Hospital, Manitou Equestrian Center and Lehigh Valley Humane Society.
Keona Dyer, a 2023 Northern Lehigh graduate, participated in the first iteration of the animal science program and witnessed an enucleation — the removal of an eye — performed during her job shadow experience.
Dyer, now a veterinary and biomedical sciences major at Penn State, hopes to one day become a veterinarian, and said the courses she took through LCCC really helped her in college.
When one of her professors taught about SOAP — short for Medical Observations Documentation Process — Dyer already knew the method.
“Overall, I was happy to be around people with very similar interests,” Dyer said of her experience in the animal sciences program.
For students like Dyer who want to become veterinarians, an animal science program can expose them to the field before they earn a bachelor's degree and four additional years of veterinary school.
“I tell students, the last thing you want is to run up $300,000 in debt to finish veterinary school and realize that this is not a career.” [you] said Lisa Martini-Johnson, professor and director of the Veterinary Technician Program at LCCC, a joint collaboration with Northampton Community College.
Becoming a veterinarian is also a rewarding career in itself that is in high demand in the Lehigh Valley, Martini-Johnson said.
“The veterinary technicians are truly the heart of the practice,” she said.
Morning Call reporter Jenny Roberts can be reached at 484-903-1732 and jroberts@mcall.com.
