Brianna McAleese

If you asked me about my career goals during the summer before starting college, I would have told you I was going to be a small animal veterinarian. I grew up in a city in New Jersey, where I struggled to find my calling and any type of career I was interested in. I finally decided on the goal of becoming a veterinarian with the assumption that it meant I would be working with cats and dogs. Once I started college, I got involved with the Animal Science Club and saw sign-ups for beef cattle showing. I signed up without even know what showing a heifer entailed. I had absolutely no idea what a big part of my life it would become. After slowly gathering more and more exposure with cattle, I knew things were changing for me. I found myself wrapped up in a whole new culture, and couldn’t get enough of it. Fast forward to four years later and my career goals have shifted. I am now an NC State Food Animal Scholar and am attending NC State’s CVM with a track in food animal medicine, focusing on cattle and swine. I can no longer see myself doing anything else and am so excited to see what the rest of my journey as in store for me!