Senior Angela Luo works on urinalysis at Silicon Valley Career Tech Education.

Following her passion for animal science, senior Angela Luo gains hands-on experience while learning to become a vet.

When senior Angela Luo signed up to participate in a Silicon Valley Career Tech Education Veterinary Science class, she knew she would be doing hands-on work, but she recalls one instance in particular that involved more than she expected.

She and two other students had to collect a dog’s urine, but they ended up having to chase the dog around to get the sample they would later organize.

“It was a very unique and just silly experience for two of us [students] to be following the dog trying to collect the urine, and three others on the side cheering us on,” Luo said.

With dreams of becoming a vet after getting her dog, Mocha, during the pandemic, Luo enrolled in a Veterinary Science course this year through SVCTE, a county program offered to district juniors and seniors to do hands-on study in a field of interest. So far, the course has earned her 500 hours of lab time and the title of veterinary assistant. The class also functions as a nonprofit clinic, giving students hands-on experience with patients along with typical lectures.

Starting in August and ending in June, the program runs every weekday from 7:30-10:30 a.m.

On a typical day, Luo begins by placing animals into their kennels and attending lectures. She and the other 30 students then tend to the animals before ending the day with more lectures. Since the program is partially a nonprofit veterinary organization, Luo said the clinic receives a variable number of animals every day, each for different treatments. On days with no patients to tend to, she and the other volunteers work on individual presentations and projects, such as urinalysis, the analysis of urine to test for the presence of diseases and drugs.

Since the program runs early in the morning, Luo is taking only four SHS classes this school year and comes to school at 10:30 each day. With less school work compared to previous years but the addition of the veterinary classes, Luo finds her workload similar to how it was before, with no significant changes.

“The workload really depends [every day], but typically it is similar to school,” she said. “The beginning of the year was more relaxed, and the work has slowly been piling up.”

Luo said her interest in animal science was sparked in the summer of her sophomore year at a summer program held by the Boston Leadership Institute Veterinary Science. There, she learned about different specialties within the animal science field, performed a few dissections and shadowed at the Boston Blue Pearl Vet Hospital.

As co-founder of the Animal Science Club established in her sophomore year, Luo dove further into her interest: making fleece blankets for animals at the Humane Society and creating presentations on various topics, such as common illnesses in animals. Learning certain topics in the club helps her better identify some of the conditions at the clinic.

“At this [SVCTE] class I’ve seen a lot more different conditions, which I talk to the members about, and I’ve also learned much more in depth like the anatomy of animals,” Luo said.

Luo initially discovered the SCVTE program when she created a presentation about different opportunities for high school students if they want to pursue animal-related fields. So far, Luo has learned how to treat a variety of animals, from cats and dogs to chickens. She has also experienced how to diagnose various diseases, such as a condition called bumblefoot, which causes chickens’ feet to swell.

“It’s really cool to be surrounded by people with the same passions and come from so many different backgrounds and experiences,” Luo said. “It’s very inspiring to see them pushing towards their goals and motivates me to do so as well.