Common Misconceptions Surrounding Global Wet and Wildlife Markets

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World Zoonoses Day

Our incredible SAVMA IEOs and SAVMA GPHOs have been hard at work organizing webinars for World Zoonoses Day! Check out some of the awesome learning opporunities coming at you this week!

Bare Bones Feature - SAVMA's International Exchange Officer

 Introducing our new mini newsletter, The Bare Bones. It is a feature highlighting what your national SAVMA team, executive board and delegates, are doing for you. Each edition will showcase a SAVMA officer and what their job entails. Our first featured officer is our SAVMA Executive Board, International Exchange Officer (IEO), Kayla Caturay, from Ross University.  

Anthony Pizzelanti from the University of Pennsylvania was the designer behind the Bare Bones logo. 

Kayla first began her SAVMA involvement as a Delegate for Ross University SVM and now represents SAVMA as the Exchange Officer within the International Veterinary Students’ Association (IVSA). On the global scale, SAVMA encompasses all of the AVMA-accredited schools to embody IVSA SAVMA – (the member organization (MO) recognized by IVSA). As IEO, Kayla travels to four events annually representing SAVMA; both the national conferences, SAVMA Symposium and AVMA Convention, and both the IVSA global events, IVSA Symposium and IVSA Congress. 

Just to name a few of Kayla's duties as IEO:

• When stateside, Kayla serves as one of the SAVMA Executive Board members, working hard to voice and address student concerns, such as representation of island schools in the House of Delegates;
• implementing constructive solutions and student initiatives, such as “Reasons to Go G10bal with IVSA” and the cultural sensitivity project (coming soon);
• overseeing and aiding the local IVSA SAVMA chapters at each university;
• acting as an advisor to the SAVMA International Veterinary Experience Committee (IVEC), and;
• facilitating exchanges between international students seeking veterinary experiences within SAVMA and SAVMA students pursuing international excursions.
• similar duties when representing SAVMA abroad

There are many parallels between SAVMA and IVSA, and the IEO ensures continuity within her member organization (MO) as well as between the MO and IVSA global. So early on as students, the unique opportunity to build international relations and shape the profession presents itself.

*As a friendly reminder, all SAVMA members are automatically members of IVSA

Meet your new SAVMA International Exchange Officer-elect

Steen Smith
Oregon State University

Description of duties: Support the IEO in the effort to facilitate exchanges, study abroad opportunities, and/or other international opportunities for members of SAVMA, as well as represent SAVMA at the two yearly International Veterinary Students' Assocation (IVSA) meetings.

In the next year my goals are to:

1. Create a comprehensive database of the policies of our member institutions in regards to international students participating in educational  opportunities.  

2. To better inform SAVMA members of the opportunities IVSA membership provides.  

3. To work closely with the IEO in support of her efforts to further develop international opportunities for our members.

 
Fun fact:
I am from Corvallis, Oregon and have worked in the veterinary field for the last 10 years, including the last 3 years as a Certified Veterinary Technician.  I enjoy fishing, hunting, camping, and other outdoor pursuits.  I worked as a construction site foreman for 7 years before pursuing my undergraduate education.

contact Steen at: SAVMAIEO [at] gmail [dot] com

Meet your new SAVMA International Exchange Officer

Julie Stafford
Home State: Alaska

Description of duties: There are really two big jobs that I
have as IEO. First I facilitate exchanges into and out of the SAVMA
schools for veterinary students. This means if you are interested in
going to a veterinary clinic or school abroad you should let me know
and I will help you set it up. Or if you have worked/externed with a
clinic in the US that you think was particularly awesome and would be
willing to host an international student let me know! Second I get to
travel to the IVSA meetings which happen twice a year. There I
represent SAVMA just as at our bi-annual SAVMA meetings I represent
IVSA. The IVSA meetings (Summer=IVSA congress and winter=IVSA
Symposium) happen anywhere in the world, this year they will be in
Norway and then South Africa, and they are super fun!

Goals for this term:

1. Communication with my IEO-elect so that you guys have twice the
representation and twice the exchange placement power!

2. Promotion of IVSA within SAVMA, so that everyone can be aware of the
opportunities available to veterinary students across the globe.

3 Updating the SAVMA international opportunities section of SAVMA's
website. I am aware that a lot of the info is out of date and very
little opportunities are listed on there. I would like to change that!

Contact: SAVMAIEO [at] gmail [dot] com