Animal Science Club plans to provide animal-related volunteer opportunities to members

Club president Angela Luo presents to members with vice president Margaret Laver and Secretary Riley Alves during the first meeting.

On Jan. 12, the Animal Science Club commenced their first meeting in club adviser Lisa Cochrum’s room. Club officers introduced themselves, their favorite animal and several volunteer opportunities to a  group of roughly ten students.

The club was born of the four officers’ love for animals. Sophomore Angela Luo, the club’s president and the owner of a Cavalier Cocker Spaniel Poodle mix, first discovered her passion for animal science when she attended a veterinary medicine camp at the Boston Leadership Institute last summer. 

Luo met vice president sophomore Margaret Laver in her biology class last year, and the two grew close through their shared interests in animals. 

“Last year while I was up at 2 a.m, doing homework, I just had this idea — what if I started an animal science club?” Luo said. “So, I messaged [Laver] about it because she also loves animals so much.”

For Laver, her experience working at the San Francisco Zoo as a part of the Nature Trail program allowed her to uncover a passion for zoology. Additionally, Laver regularly volunteers at Animal Assisted Happiness, a Nonprofit organization in Sunnyvale. 

When Luo and Laver decided to found the club, they noticed that although there were various science clubs at school relating to human biology, there were no animal-based ones.

“I want to help people who love animals have a place at school and inspire people to major in veterinary or animal science,” Luo said.

In order to find potential members for the club, they asked around on Instagram for people interested in becoming club officers; sophomore secretary Riley Alves and sophomore treasurer Caitlin Weber eventually signed up. Although the Animal Science club application took over a month to process, largely due to ASB’s legal issues, the club was ultimately approved at the start of the second semester, Luo said. The club has continued advertising on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. 

For their second meeting and third meetings on Jan. 19 and Feb. 1, officers presented slideshows on the ancestry and characteristics of both wild and domestic cats and dogs, as well as common illnesses within different subgroups of animals — such as salmonella, rabies and Lyme disease. They plan to continue meetings every blue Wednesday in room 1017 during lunch.

Sophomore Esabella Fung, a member of the club, joined in order to increase her understanding of animal behavior and traits.

“Animals are really impactful when we’re looking at our ecosystem,” she said, “and so in order to better understand our world we really need to understand animals.”

In addition to their presentations to the club, officers have also reached out to various shelters, such as the Humane Society animal shelter and San Jose Animal Care Center. According to Laver, members will soon have the opportunity to volunteer at these local institutions by making blankets and sock warmers for kittens.

Luo and Laver both plan on majoring in animal science-related subjects and hope the club will give them more experience, with Luo looking into Biology and Chemistry for animals, and Laver planning on majoring in Zoology.

“I think becoming a Zoologist is semi-achievable,” Laver said. “I know there aren’t many positions open in the field right now, but I think if I work towards it, I can do it. I’ve been taking the correct classes that are going to help me in college, as well as [learning more through] this club.”

Luo hopes that the club will continue to grow during the 2022-2023 school year club rush and that more younger students will join to pass the club on, especially since all four officers graduate next year.

“I think founding the club was really fun and just a cool experience,” said Luo. “[The officers] have a Zoom meeting every red Wednesday to make the slides for next week, which has helped the four of us become closer friends.”