Zoology grad turned emergency vet saves animals in California

Making pawsitive memories

It didn’t take her long to build a community in the College of Science. She became the president of the Integrative Biology Club and helped organize sleepovers at aquariums and wildlife safaris. There, students met with cheetahs and spent time with the animals behind the scenes.

As co-president of the Pre-Veterinary Scholars Program with the Honors College, she also worked directly with the College of Veterinary Medicine and helped coordinate trips and activities for first-year students.

"Don’t always take no for an answer."

When she landed her first paid summer internship at the Grove Veterinary Clinic in Newport, Oregon, Crowder met veterinarian Marianne Clunes. She wasn’t just any animal doctor — she had a special touch when working with cats. Unfortunately, Clunes passed away from pneumonia after beating cancer in 2021.

“She worked her kitty magic to make every single cat so calm, and she had a reassuring presence around many owners,” Crowder said. “I think about her and that frequently. I try to emulate the way that she gently cared for all of her patients and clients.”

After she returned to campus, navigating the class registration process while simultaneously managing workloads proved tough. Thanks to the support of College of Science advisor Jennifer Olarra, she got the guidance she needed to graduate on time with a high-quality degree in 2017.

After that, Crowder took what she learned at Oregon State to embark on a four-year animal journey at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. In the intensive care unit of Cornell’s teaching hospital, she learned about a variety of surgical techniques, including a successful c-section procedure while on the ‘puppy team.’

Landing her dream job

Once she obtained her graduate degree in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell, she moved to California and now works 12-hour days three times a week. Her everyday routine is a fast-paced revolving door of cute and cuddly friends.

She treats the sickest pets first, but while waiting for the diagnostics results for one pet, she treats the next. As a people person, she looks forward to discussing treatment plans and status updates with the owners and watching the pets recover. These are the biggest rewards of her career.

Despite the long hours, the collaborative work culture makes it all worth it. Being in a place with high retention rates and experienced coworkers are some of the key building blocks for maintaining a healthy work environment. Luckily for Crowder, that’s exactly what she found.

“What I really love about being in the emergency room is what you see. Animals can come in hurt or really sick, but then turn around kind of magically. It feels amazing to know you're making a difference and seeing it happen,” Crowder said.

If her student experiences with Oregon State’s College of Science never happened, she might not be where she is now. From experience, she knows that when students aren’t afraid to advocate for themselves, opportunities tend to appear.

“Don’t always take no for an answer,” Crowder said. “I was initially told ‘no’ when I wanted to go to Nicaragua with Oregon State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. I asked them five times before they said ‘yes.’ That’s how I was the first undergraduate to go on that trip.”

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