Our first appointment was with Dr. Bob Knight in Rangeland Ecology. The "Cow Deco" Animal Industries Building was awesome. The building is a wonderful example of Art Deco and the livestock that is depicted on the capitals on the interior are stunning. Wouldn't we like to have some of that art on the Ranch. Next we visited Rudder Tower, MSC and walked along the campus. We ate lunch at the Dixie Chicken. We all told Melissa that this was a "study hall". Rustin and Melissa loved it and bought the obligatory T-Shirt. We toured the Rec Center and walked back beside Kyle Field. Even though the A&M campus population is 4 times as large as our hometown, we all felt welcomed. We had students stop and talk, guide and advise. We ran into Henderson native Jeffrey Legg, now a member of the Corp. That was really cool!
Next we took a chance and made our way to the Kleberg Building. We were unable to book an appointment in the Animal Science Department. We had made contact with Dr. Shawn Ramsey, but he was in Nevada doing Research. We decided to drop in and at least see if we could get some course information. After arriving in the Academic Office, we were told that everyone was busy. However, Dr. Glen Holub, Assistant Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, overheard our pleas and came to our rescue. As luck would have it, and these things always have a way of working out, Dr. Holub was Melissa's "Star of the Day". He spoke the language. He told her about classes that she would take in the Animal Science Department. She loved it. We didn't want to take up too much time, since we were squeezed in, so we made our exit. Melissa loved the Kleberg Building. We noticed the brands from all of the Texas Counties on the walls. We made our way downstairs to find Rusk County. We don't recognize the brands, but we will find out who uses them next week when we go to the Feed Store----the best information around is always at our Feed Store.
Our 4:30 appointment at the Vet School was exciting. We were overwhelmed. Melissa does not know for sure if Vet School is in her future, but she sure wants to keep the door open. Jordan, a 3rd year student, met us in the foyer and gave us a tour of the school. (I made note of the wall color in the new Cardiac Lab. It was a great bluish purple. It made the eyes relax. This may be the color for our lab in the Barn.) But, it was when we got to the Large Animal Hospital that Melissa really started enjoying things. I do believe she would love to doctor animals for the rest of her life. I already knew that, with her work with the llamas and her interest in genetics. I think this appointment only confirmed what we all knew. We all enjoyed Jordan and the tour. Hopefully he will visit the Ranch and meet the llamas. Meeting the llamas will definitely round out his Veterinary Education!
We left College Station armed with catalogues, class information, advisor information, T-Shirts and photos. These, along with the memories of a wonderful day, will help Melissa make decisions that will keep her in the Livestock World. She is a natural.
BTW . . .Melissa is thinking Animal Science Major, with a Rangeland Ecology Minor,
as long as she takes all of the pre-req's for Vet School.
...now all she has to do is keep a 4.0!!!!
We welcome any advice from current students.
|
