A Caribbean foundation that made a difference
Tiffany Moore ’20 traces her love for animal care back to her childhood growing up on the island of Barbados. As long as she can remember, she has always wanted to help animals.
“Growing up as an only child, animals naturally became family to me. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I lost a few pets and I would always wonder, "why did he/she pass away?" That "why" never disappeared, and it birthed my childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian.”
As Tiffany grew older, so did her compassion for animals and her interest in animal medicine and science. Every summer as a teen, she acted on her interest and volunteered at the Barbados RSPCA as a veterinary assistant.
She later migrated to New York City (NYC), where she obtained her associate degree in Veterinary Technology at SUNY Canton, and later graduated with a bachelor’s in Animal Science at SUNY Cobleskill, both located in upstate New York. During her college breaks, she worked as a licensed Veterinary Technician in a companion animal hospital in NYC.
When it was time to decide on taking her love for veterinary medicine to the next level, Ross Vet was the obvious choice.
“Having lived on a Caribbean island for 11 years of my life, it was second nature moving to St. Kitts. I was familiar with the Caribbean culture and it just made sense. The diversity of the clinicians at Ross Vet provided endless opportunities for me to meet people from different parts of the world and learn about their individual experiences within veterinary medicine. The accessibility of live animals on the island to practice medicine and surgery before clinical year was also a great benefit of being a Rossie.”
Tiffany also credits the breath-taking location of St. Kitts as another top reason for her choice of becoming a Rossie. Her favorite spot on the island is Timothy Hill.
For Tiffany, her most challenging experience in veterinary school was her clinical year experience at Louisiana State University (LSU). “Clinical year was definitely my favorite, yet most challenging year of veterinary school. It was blissful being able to work through cases that we've only seen in textbooks, especially alongside superb clinicians. There were numerous challenges during clinics but having overcome them, I am grateful for those learning experiences. Clinical year is the ideal time to solidify your preclinical training before entering the real world of veterinary medicine, so I ensured that I took the most out of my experience at LSU.”
“My most memorable moment in clinics was when I worked closely with a canine patient who had become a forelimb amputee after a severe infection took over her body. Spending numerous hours rehabilitating her to walk on three legs, while watching the drastic improvement in her condition, strongly reinforced my decision to become a veterinarian. Being able to witness a dog who was knocking on death's door change into a bubbly tripod, while simply watching her family's elation, was certainly the most gratifying feeling in the world for me.”
Today, you can find Tiffany enjoying her first weeks of practicing veterinary medicine in Las Vegas, Nevada. Even with the intense transition of being a student to a doctor, she doesn’t see herself doing anything else in the world. “I am a race car enthusiast, so I bought myself a Mustang convertible as a personal graduation gift for completing a journey that’s worth it!”
With her busy schedule, Tiffany still finds time for fun. “Exercising as much as my hectic schedule permits is how I cultivate my wellness. Driving has always been very therapeutic for me as well, so I sometimes go on long drives while enjoying the beautiful scenery around me here in Las Vegas, Nevada.”
Tiffany has her eyes on embracing more amazing scenery as she intends on traveling to countries with limited veterinary resources to mentor teens and young adults who are interested in pursuing careers in veterinary medicine. Owning her own small animal/exotics practice is also one of her top goals. With these goals, she intends to make space for more diversity and inclusion in the field.
“Through my personal experiences with people from different walks of life, I realized that many people may have biased opinions simply because of a lack of knowledge. I believe that if we are willing to educate each other more without losing our authenticity, we can improve social unity.”