07/30/2025
We're excited to introduce our recent scholarship recipient, Marina! Join us in congratuling her on passing the VTNE!
Howdy! My name is Marina Harrison and I’m a veterinary technician. I’ve been working in veterinary medicine since 2013 at the Texas A&M University teaching hospital. After obtaining my bachelor degree in animal science in 2014, I started my career in the small animal orthopedic surgery department. I eventually transitioned over to soft tissue and minimally invasive surgery and have been thoroughly enjoying my time teaching veterinary students, assisting with wound care and surgery, and growing as a technician. In 2022, I started taking courses to obtain my associate of applied science degree in veterinary technology. Though working full time and completing coursework made for a full schedule, I recently graduated in May 2025 with my degree! To prepare for the VTNE, I started studying a few months in advance. I signed up for VetTechPrep online which made structured studying convenient. Their program has a mobile app that also allowed me to study on the go any time I had a free moment. My coworkers were a huge help in my preparations as well as they would quiz me with practice questions from VTNE review books in our rare down time. I kept and utilized my old textbooks from the courses that were memorization-heavy, like parasitology and pharmacology. Having those resources on hand to create flash cards and use as references during my study was a huge help that I thoroughly believe benefited me at test time. Lastly, I kept in mind that the result of my VTNE did not define my intelligence or determine my worth as a technician. The education obtained from my coursework and hands-on job experience is infinitely more valuable in the long run, and I was not going to let the VTNE deter me from my goal! Thankfully, early preparation, a steady support network, and a calm head allowed me to pass and complete this additional step towards becoming credentialed!
