Winning the FFA Veterinary Science Career Development Event Championship is no small feat. In fact, Bristol County Agricultural High School senior Molly Ross of Rochester said even she wasn’t expecting her team to beat out all other 40 participating states.
The journey began back in January of 2016 when Ross and three other animal science majors at Bristol Aggie competed at the state level and won after a series of opportunities to show off and be tested on their knowledge and skills in veterinary science. This brought the team to the state finals in September where, again, the team took first place.
“We’ve always done well at the state level, but not great,” said Ross. “We weren’t expecting this at all.” The Bristol Aggie team, however, has won at the state level over the five years it’s been participating in the competition.
In Indianapolis back in October, the four were subjected to a series of exams and tests to exhibit their skills learned at Bristol Aggie. Ross, who is a large animal science major, said first up was an exam on the general knowledge of veterinary science, followed by a mathematics test, which probed the teams’ abilities to convert metric values and other areas of math that assist in skills such as dispensing proper medication amounts.
“You also had to prove that you could identify equipment, identify animal breeds, and parasites,” said Ross.
Over the course of two days, the students’ skills in haltering livestock, filling syringes, and performing procedures were observed, followed by a 15-minute group presentation on how to treat Salmonella in dairy cows.
“For that, we received a perfect score,” Ross said.
There are a lot of aspects involved in the competition, said Ross. Intense studying for months prior to the national competition was all part of the big picture.
“The best way to describe it is ‘intense studying,’” said Ross. “After a certain point, we studied so much that it wasn’t going to stay in our heads for long, but at least we’d seen it.”
On October 21, the team was presented with plaques for their achievement during a banquet after the event. In December, the four were guests at the State House and were honored with certificates on the floor of the House of Representatives.
“It’s a big deal,” said Ross of the team’s accomplishment. “Even Texas came in second place to us. There were kids from Idaho that were just in shock.”
Ross says she plans on attending UMass Amherst next year, majoring in animal science. She said it’s a hope of hers that she will one day make a name for herself in the field.
“This experience has shown me what I can do,” said Ross. “Bristol Aggie is a really great place for me. There’s a lot of hands-on learning, I’ve learned a lot, and it’s opened a lot of doors for me. I can’t imagine having been anywhere else.”
By Jean Perry
