Alumni Profiles
B.S., biology with chemistry and health science concentrations, 2006
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine candidate, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tenn.
To watch a video with Emily, click here.
“As soon as we drove into the bush outside Nairobi, Kenya, and I saw my first herd of elephants, I said to myself, 'If I hadn't enrolled at Guilford College, I wouldn't be here today.' No question — Guilford was THE college for me!”
So says Emily Pearman, who spent time in East Africa during the summer between her sophomore and junior years at Guilford College. She and some of her classmates in the Natural Science Seminar at Guilford conducted a variety of research projects during their safari. “That trip was definitely a defining moment for my life,” she says, describing how she experienced firsthand the amazing diversity of animals and plant life in Kenya.
Now a student at the veterinary college at the University of Tennessee, Emily says that biology was a perfect major for her at Guilford. “I’ve had no trouble in vet school, simply because the learning process as a biology major gave me the tools I need.”
The most difficult thing for her these days is remembering that even though the professors at Guilford College were called by their first names, “the surgeons in the vet school definitely want to be called ‘Doctor,’ and I have to keep reminding myself of that!” She adds that the informal atmosphere of her Quaker undergraduate school is precious to her, and that it actually helped her decide where to attend veterinary school.
“I had to decide — Tennessee, Auburn or Iowa State, and it was the interviews that made the difference. Tennessee was by far the most welcoming, the most pleasant for me. And I still love it here.”
Emily has also joined the Army, which means that after she graduates as a veterinarian, she owes three years of active service followed by six years of reserve duty. She’ll rotate around the 30 bases where the Army provides veterinary services, working on Army horses and dogs and providing services to the pets of those who live on the Army base. “It’s a good deal for me, and I might even decide to make a career of it,” she says.
Whatever you say, Doctor Pearman.
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