Ross Vet Student Government

Natalia Munoz & Storm Bugh

Natalie Muñoz was born and raised in Howell, New Jersey and moved to Southern California when she was thirteen years old. In June 2016, Munoz graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Animal Science concentrating in Pre-Veterinary medicine. A month prior to obtaining her B.S. degree Munoz pursued further graduate education. In December 2018, Munoz graduated from Miami University with a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Biology. During her graduate studies (Advanced Inquiry Program), Munoz was able to combine web-based graduate courses through Miami University with face-to-face experiential learning with San Diego Zoo Global. Her love for wildlife conservation flourished during this program and she focused her research and coursework on wildlife veterinary medicine.

Throughout her graduate research with San Diego Zoo Global, she learned that inspiring future veterinary professionals to be resilient in becoming a wildlife veterinarian is essential. The graduate program not only gave her the tools to one day help save endangered species but broaden her perspectives in understanding these issues on a global and local scale. Munoz learned that she could be the person to inspire young people to become an animal doctor in our world today. During her graduate studies, she worked at a small animal hospital, her love of science, medicine, desire to help animals and educate pet owners all helped solidify her desire to be a veterinarian. It is the culmination of her education and these experiences that cemented her desire to pursue veterinary medicine. Not only will she help provide a better quality of life for all animals worldwide but will also strive to educate the public on how to support and protect the lives of their own animals and the ones they share the Earth with. Munoz is currently working as a Neurology Veterinary Technician at  ACCESS Specialty Animal Hospitals in Culver City, California.

Storm is from Edina, Missouri and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia in Animal Science. He then completed his master program in Agriculture at Northwest Missouri State University following his undergraduate career. He has worked within many different areas of veterinary medicine, including a small animal/exotic exclusive pet hospital to a rural mixed practice clinic. He has further animal experience steaming from being raised on a farm with a variety of livestock. This exposure during his youth to animals began the passion for veterinary medicine and has only furthered through his studies. His plan is to become a mixed practice veterinarian with the possibility of specializing in Equine Theriogenology.

Kevin Ramirez Gomez & Michelle Marinich

Kevin Ramírez Gómez is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He graduated from University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus with a bachelor’s degree in Cellular Molecular Biology. He has always been interested in studying veterinary medicine, with the idea that one day he will make a difference in animal welfare. He seeks to work with exotic animal medicine in a clinical setting or wildlife rehabilitation. Besides being in the SAVMA General Board, he is also part of the ZEW club and RUSVM Broad Spectrum, where he hopes to gain more knowledge in exotic animal care, while being part of such a powerful community.

Michelle is from Atlanta, Georgia and obtained a degree in Veterinary Technology from Alfred State College and went on to complete her undergraduate studies in Animal Science with a concentration in Dairy Science at Cornell University. She is dual licensed as a Veterinary Technician in New York and Georgia with a focus in Emergency and Critical Care. She has a variety of experience working with animals including, but not limited to, small animal specialty and emergency, large animal ambulatory and dairy production, specifically calf and heifer management. Since she was young, she has always had a love for animals, but it wasn’t until later in her career that she decided to pursue a career as a veterinarian. Michelle has an interest in emergency and transfusion medicine with goals to open her own multi-species blood product donation center. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, relaxing in the sun and going for hikes with her dog, Ollie.

Elizabeth Aga & Daniela Lopez

Elizabeth is from Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from Kennesaw State University with a bachelor's degree in biology. Her passion for animals led her to work in many different aspects of the veterinary field. Through her rotations, she fell in love with integrative medicine, including acupuncture, spinal manipulation, and rehabilitation. She hopes to grow this passion and knowledge while at RUSVM with the hopes of one day owning her own rehabilitation clinic. In her spare time, she can be found at the dog park with her goldendoodle, Annie, who traveled with her to St. Kitts.

Daniela was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She attended Universidad de Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus and Iowa State University. While in college, her love to help animals and educate people in various communities of PR sparked when she had the opportunity to participate in Spayathons for Puerto Rico in providing HVHQSN clinics. After working with ViDAS for 5 spayathons, her love for small animal medicine grew. What motivated her the most was seeing how she can help their owners and pets to have happier and healthier lives. For this and many other reasons, she plans to work as a small animal veterinarian and volunteer in spayathons in various countries when she graduates in April 2023.

Suji Kim & Marissa Matthews

Suji is from Brooklyn, NY and got her undergraduate degree at Boston College, where she studied Clinical Psychology and volunteered as a student EMT. Her first animal experience was in High School as an assistant caretaker at the Wild Bird Fund in NYC. She spent the year before Vet School working as a Veterinary Technician at Alameda East in Denver Colorado. There, she had the chance to work alongside many doctors and technicians who continue to inspire her while she completes her degree. Today, she still loves wild birds and exotics and hopes to work more with them and small animals in the future.

Marissa is from Brooklyn, Michigan and she received her bachelor’s from the University of Michigan in 2015. After graduating, she moved to Colorado to work on a small dairy farm, where she obtained her cat, Jasper. After working in various specialties, she found her passion in veterinary ophthalmology. She is currently a research volunteer in a corneal pathology study and hopes to one day become a board certified ophthalmologist. In her free time she plays soccer and volleyball.

Shea Noonan & Jessica Guyett

Shea hails from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He received his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Indiana University. He graduated thinking he wanted to be a medical doctor; but God had other plans for his life and he became interested in veterinary medicine a little over two years ago. He is still a licensed EMT in the state of Indiana and worked in a human emergency room for almost five years. Also in human medicine, he worked in an Advanced Simulation Laboratory where he dealt with 3D technology, simulation manikins and both augmented and virtual reality simulators. He uncovered his desire to pursue Veterinary Medicine and worked in a veterinary emergency room and ICU while volunteering at an exotic animal sanctuary. His passion in veterinary medicine is working with large exotic species. With his degree from Ross he would like to work in zoo medicine and join an international program to volunteer in other countries in exotic animal sanctuaries and rescue organizations.

Jessica was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. She attended Undergrad at Sam Houston State University (Go Bearkats!) receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical Sciences. She is involved with many clubs DI, ASRP, Surgery, and VIDA. Her favorite is VIDA which allows Ross students to provide free veterinary care to animals across the island. She originally became interested in Veterinary Medicine while volunteering at a local Banfield Hospital, this led to a 13-year career in various fields like Emergency, Exotic and Oncology medicine. She is undecided at the moment where she wants to settle in the world of Veterinary Medicine but is very passionate about end of life care, shelter medicine, and specialty practice.

Anthony Elhinn & Madison Bland

Anthony was born and raised in Orange County, California. He attended Cal State Fullerton during undergrad, but it was back in high school where he found his passion for helping animals. He started off working as a kennel attendant at a small animal clinic and instantly fell in love with the field. Watching how much comfort and happiness a veterinarian can bring not only to the pets, but their owners as well, made him determined to want to do the same in his future. He worked his way up and became a technician for a couple years until he finished school and got accepted here at Ross. He hopes to someday own his own small animal practice and bring all that happiness to clients and their furry friends that made him fall in love with the field in the first place.

Maddy is from Minneapolis, MN and has a B.S. in psychology from the University of Minnesota. She found her passion for veterinary medicine post-graduation when she started working at her local animal shelter. She then worked as a veterinary technician for a busy animal hospital while she applied to veterinary school. Some of her favorite areas to study within vet med include cardiology, dermatology and pathology. She's really passionate about shelter/non-profit medicine and wants to bring veterinary care to pets in underserved communities. She's proud to be an Orange Fox and very proud to represent her class on SAVMA's general board.

Julie Fithian & Caitlyn Yunker

Julie is from Long Island, NY and graduated from Stony Brook University with a B.S in Marine Vertebrate Biology. While in school she interned with the Riverhead Marine Foundation as a member of the Rescue Team, working with mainly pinnipeds and sea turtles. After graduation she worked for the Town of Southampton Trustees doing endangered species monitoring with the Piping Plovers and Least Terns, 2 species of shorebirds. Once the season ended, she got a job as a Veterinary Assistant at the East Hampton Vet Clinic where she worked for 2 years before being accepted to RUSVM. Here at RUSVM she is involved with her class as one of the Class Representatives, TAs for the Vet Prep program, and is a Research Assistant with the St Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network. She is looking to pursue Aquatic and Zoo medicine! She has 2 cats and a dog here on island and her favorite animal is the Little Penguin

Caitlyn is from Haverhill, MA and graduated from Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Business Administration. While in college she did research on reproduction genes in Drosophila Melanogaster. During that time she also worked as a Veterinary Assistant at Hopewell Veterinary clinic in Pennsylvania, for 2 years before being accepted to RUSVM. Back home she has one dog named Luna. Here at RUSVM she is active in the RUSVM chapter of Student Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society, of which she was the Vice President for 3 semesters. She is hoping to become board certified in Emergency and Critical Care after her time here at Ross University.

Valeria Benitez & Adriana Luna

Giovanna Paredes

Giovanna is from Forest Hills, New York and received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. John’s University.  While in undergrad, Giovanna became a proud sister of Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas Inc.  She became very active in cultural awareness, education and in helping the underprivileged members of the american society, through positive actions for the improvement and advancement of their communities.  However, Giovanna’s passion has always been to help animals and hopes to become a veterinarian to have the opportunity to educate underprivileged communities in Peru, while providing them aid for their animals.  Currently, Giovanna is involved in various clubs on campus, serving as treasurer of the AAV Chapter at Ross and secretary of Broad Spectrum, and she is excited to work with other enthusiastic individuals in creating a positive community at Ross University.  Gi is a lover of all animals, big and small, and during her free time enjoys rehabilitating wildlife, meditating and going to the beach.

Veronica Alexanders

Veronica is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She received her Biological Sciences and Genetics degree at the University of Manitoba and did her Masters in Animal Science at the University of Alberta. She is currently the RUSVM International Veterinary Students' Association Representative, ZEW Secretary, and has participated in research projects directed by Dr. Ghosh. Both of her parents are Veterinarians who have worked alongside the United Nations. Growing up, she was surrounded by the constant care and widespread education of the veterinary world. Intrigued with such unique practices in one profession, she developed the interest in its study, which ignited my passion. She has always been interested in working with wildlife, zoo, and large animals. Travelling a lot before starting at Ross, she has seen firsthand the impact that animals have on the health of the public, as well as their agriculture. She hopes to work in both underdeveloped and developing countries to educate people about the care of animals, as well as working hands-on with animals in those countries. She also hopes to receive the necessary training in more holistic approaches to animal care and medicine, which can be useful in countries that may not have all the necessary veterinary medical resources.