Her Story
About Laurel
Laurel Stucky is a licensed veterinarian who has been practicing since 2009 and represents Michigan. She earned her undergraduate degree in pre-veterinary medicine and Spanish from Michigan State University and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the same institution. Stucky focuses on client communication and providing compassionate care by understanding the difficult decisions families face regarding their pets. She maintains active memberships in the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association. In addition to her clinical work, Stucky has volunteered with the Ovarian Cancer Caucus, advocated for sexual assault victims, and supported local shelters and food banks. She attributes her success to boundless energy and a willingness to take on challenges, and she values integrity, compassion, and building trust in client-patient relationships. Stucky notes that veterinary medicine offers growth opportunities including diversity and international travel to provide care in underserved areas, while challenges include balancing appointment pace with thorough case research.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Laurel
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say unboundless energy, unboundless youthful energy, and a little bit of stupidity.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Anything that's been uplifting or positive, honestly, of doubt or questioning what you're thinking or your thought process. I've had so many colleagues be uplifting and positive when you're feeling down, and so just appreciate all of the people who have been kind in the moments of self-doubt.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's a long road. You really have to be on top of your studies like the sciences and the math. It's a long road to get to practicing as a veterinarian. Definitely find out or volunteer in different practices and different sectors of veterinary medicine to expose yourself to what the reality of the job looks like. And then if that's still something that you want to do and want to pursue, go for it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges: keeping up with the pace of work versus the research it sometimes takes to figure out complicated cases. Appointments happen every 30 minutes so at a certain point you have to communicate later on certain things if they're more complex. Opportunities: veterinary medicine is growing so there's a lot of growth within the field, opportunities for diversity, travel to help low-cost areas with veterinary services, and working in areas where people need it most.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I really appreciate the human connection and being there for people at some very vulnerable moments. Integrity is important to me, and compassion is important to me. Listening and understanding the variety of different places people are in their lives and what they deal with, and really keeping that client patient relationship filled with trust and understanding.
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