Her Story
About Suzie
I've always been that cliche person who loved animals as a kid, trying to save the baby birds and bugs. I weighed a couple different career options but didn't think I could handle being a human nurse with all the schooling. I still have student loans and pay for everything myself, so I didn't think I could afford human nursing. I really love that in veterinary medicine, the technicians get to do a lot more. I get to place central lines and intraosseous catheters and a lot of things that in human medicine I wouldn't be able to do. Veterinary medicine used to be very toxic - it was all about hoarding knowledge and not letting anybody else grow, and there was very little kindness. I grew up in that environment. What became really important to me was leadership. I was promoted into leadership about a month before COVID, which was chaotic for us. About 2 years later, I was moved to upper management. I really love being able to help from the back end, being the change that you want to see. I want to share the knowledge and want other people to grow up in veterinary medicine and expand on it in a positive way instead of a negative way. I really think I can do that from the administrative side.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Suzie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to just always wanting to better myself and better the community. I think the fact that I have large, wide goals is something that has been very helpful. I don't see a one-track path for myself. My path is constantly changing a little bit, and whatever it is, it's because I want to serve the greater good of my goals, which is veterinary medicine and sharing knowledge. Whatever way I decide to do that, it's not a closed-off route. I'm very open. And just continuing to believe in yourself, even if you take a step back, you're still a lot further ahead than you were before.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say stand up for yourself and hold on tight, because there's gonna be some bad days, there's gonna be some rough days, but as long as you hold on tight to your passion and your foundations, you're gonna be okay, and you're gonna figure everything out. As far as leadership, if you're getting into leadership, whether it's veterinary or anything, do your research and continue to better yourself, because I look at leadership and management as an advanced skill, just like any medical skill that I provide. When I was young and started in this field, I didn't know how to place an IV catheter or do anesthesia, but I practiced and I learned those things. It's the same thing with leadership - you have to practice, you're going to make mistakes, you're not going to be perfect every time, but you learn. And that is very important. Communication is very, very important also. You can't communicate how you want to communicate, you have to communicate how everybody else wants to. I'm a very direct person and I have to tone it down a lot for other people, but that's okay.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say a strong one is respect. And I don't mean that in an old-fashioned respect, but just generalized respect for other humans. And understanding will be a big one, because I think we need to understand in every aspect of our life that maybe somebody's having a bad day, maybe this is not their best time, understanding that everybody has struggles that you cannot see. So I think respect and understanding are two of my big ones.
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