Class of 2028: From NC State Undergrad to Hospital Employee to DVM Student
Megan Wallace, a member of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Class of 2028, trades tourniquets for textbooks in moving from NC State’s Veterinary Hospital to its classrooms.
When classes start next week, Megan Wallace’s commute will remain what it has been for nearly two and a half years.
But instead of beginning a shift at the NC State Veterinary Hospital’s small animal emergency clinic, Wallace will enter a classroom in the adjoining building to embark on her DVM degree at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine.
Wallace, 26, is overjoyed to enter a new stage of her career at the place where she has saved lives as a registered veterinary technician and bonded with colleagues who supported her in launching her own telehealth business. Bringing her experiences full-circle at the veterinary school she has long dreamed of attending is incredibly fulfilling, she says.
“It’s been surreal helping the fourth-year students working in the ER over the past few months, because I keep thinking, ‘That’s going to be me in three years!’” Wallace says. “I’m really excited for when I’m in their shoes because I know I’m going to have even more ER knowledge than I do now.”
When Wallace was a third-grader in Rochester, New York, she hatched plans to pursue veterinary medicine along with five duck eggs. Her father, a general practice veterinary assistant for over three decades, had her incubate the eggs as an introduction to animal husbandry. All of the chicks — Aflac, Oliver, Yolko, Omelette and Sunny — survived under her care, and Wallace went on to work at a dairy farm and a pet boarding facility while in high school.
A bachelor’s degree in animal science from NC State followed. As an undergrad, Wallace was a research assistant to Dr. Lin Xi in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ swine unit.
After graduating in 2019, she turned to veterinary technician training when her first two attempts at applying to veterinary school didn’t pan out.
“Being a DVM was always my goal, but I needed a lot of work,” she says, adding that tech school deepened her appreciation for veterinary medicine.
Wallace earned her associate’s in applied science with a focus in veterinary medical technology from Central Carolina Community College and passed her licensing exam in 2021. Working at Veterinary Emergency Care in Cary provided her introduction to emergency medicine.
“I’d done general practice, mixed animals and traditional holistic medicine, but I was getting kind of bored,” Wallace says. “I’m more of an adrenaline junkie, feast-or-famine kind of person. I want to be doing all the things, so I thought, ‘What seems chaotic? Emergency.’”
When an emergency technician position opened at the NC State Veterinary Hospital in 2022, Wallace felt it was fate.
“I wanted to take advantage of the opportunities for academic growth and on-the-job learning about different emergency procedures,” says Wallace. “Once I met the staff here, especially in the emergency department, they made me feel very comfortable, very fast. Now we all have each other’s backs.”
Wallace represented her coworkers on the Staff Advocacy Council, and they encouraged her to pursue her goals, including starting a local telehealth consultation service called PetVise. Wallace founded PetVise during the pandemic to direct concerned owners to the right hospital for their pets’ needs in an effort to lower patient volumes at emergency clinics.
As her ties to the hospital grew, Wallace considered making technician work her career. Then, on her fourth time applying to the College of Veterinary Medicine, she got in.
“I cried my eyes out,” she says. “It took awhile to sink in, and then I just started calling people. Everyone was super happy for me, including the emergency team.”
Wallace will study emergency medicine at NC State, focusing on small animals and exotic pets. Her experience caring for these creatures extends into her home, where she owns a dog named Arya, a rabbit called Obi-Bun Kenobi and five moon jellyfish named after characters from “Finding Nemo.”
She will continue working at the hospital part-time as a student assistant. Wallace looks forward to meeting her fellow students and introducing them to friendly faces around campus.
“I’m already making connections with and learning about my classmates,” Wallace says. “We’re the largest incoming class, which is excellent — more friends, more people to learn from and hobbies to pick up! We already have a pickleball group chat.”
