Pulse - August 2023 - 8

SCVMA PROFILE
JIM BELL
JIM BELL
Two Western Students Claim
SCVMA Scholarship Grants
T
Dylan is the first member of his
family to go to college. His parents
divorced when he was 4 years old.
His mother, Jennifer, works as a
janitor in the high school in Fullerton
that he attended.
" She wanted me to have a better
Dylan Johnston
life than she did when she grew up.
She really emphasized going to college
and becoming a member of society
who could contribute. She has
been instrumental in my success.
" She always wanted to go to college
herself and for a brief stint I helped her get into culinary art school with
applications and essays. But unfortunately, it was short-lived because she
was a single parent and was juggling two jobs and trying to be a parent to
my youngest brother, " he said.
His mother helped him through high school, two years at Fullerton
College and two more at UC Davis before he enrolled at Western, Dylan
said. After he earns his DVM degree, he hopes to secure a pathology
residency at either Washington State or Colorado State and work toward
a Ph.D.
He plans an academic career. " That's the environment that I envision
for myself. Perhaps being a professor as well. I can see myself doing that
for the rest of my life. "
Pathology, he said, " is the veterinary field that I've wanted to do since I
was 10. That's when I started planning my academic career. "
During his years at Western, Dylan also has been doing research in
infectious diseases and related fields - most of it on summer breaks,
he said. He has made presentations at the National Veterinary Scholar
Symposium, the American Veterinary Pathologists Conference, the Pacific
Veterinary Conference and at Western's Research Day.
Dylan is a classically trained ballet dancer and a gymnast. " I did ballet
for about 10 years, but I don't do it much anymore, " he said. In high
school, he trained with dance troupes as well as with local dance companies.
" I also taught beginner-level contemporary dance and ballet dance
for children.
" My favorite part was being able to choreograph my own pieces to
teach to my teammates for dance concerts. Now I just dance in my living
room but I would like to go back into a studio at some point. "
He said that he is " eternally grateful " for the SCVMA scholarship.
" I am just very humbled and grateful to even have been considered and
selected. And it's definitely going to help me alleviate some of the costs of
going to school, especially the costs of residency programs. "
8
wo Western University of Health Sciences students took home SCVMA scholarship money
from the Association's annual Celebration. Both - Dylan Johnston and Sharona Sedighim -
are fourth-year students.
Sharona is aiming for a career
in small animal medicine, perhaps
including some emergency medicine.
" I grew up knowing that I
wanted to do something medical.
I considered human medicine.
" When I decided to become
Sharona Sedighim
a veterinarian, it was because of
a one-day experience. I was able
to shadow a veterinarian in Long
Beach. The amount of work he did
that day and the amount of variety
that there was in his job, the fact that
he was able to help patients right at that moment and work with clients
was what really attracted me to veterinary medicine. "
The doctor she followed was Dr. Ata Abrishami at Bixby Animal Clinic.
She will work there in December as part of her fourth-year study rotation.
" This past year I've really gotten to know much more about emergency
medicine and urgent care and the fast pace of that really attracts me. But I
also enjoy working with puppies and kittens. I'd like a mix of that, " she said.
" I'm still on the fence about doing an internship. I might do a one-year
small-animal internship. I have really loved working with SCVMA at
Downtown Dog Rescue events and hope to continue that after I graduate.
SCVMA has a really strong network and I'm hoping to become part
of that. " She would like to stay in the Los Angeles area, she said, but
wouldn't turn down a good offer from elsewhere. She did her undergraduate
work at UC San Diego.
Sharona said that her family has been " extremely supportive. " Her
father, Steve, is a businessman and her mother, Maria, does not work
outside the home. She has two sisters and a brother. Her older sister,
Shaina, is a general surgery resident at UC Irvine and her younger sister,
Shannon, is a second-year medical student at Kansas City University.
" It's fun 'talking medical' with my sisters and comparing human medicine
to veterinary medicine, especially on the topic of surgery, " she said.
Sharona loves hiking and playing video games as well as drawing and
painting. " I love incorporating my art with veterinary topics through anatomic
drawings, " she said. She also loves coming home " and being welcomed
by my cat, Oliver. Having him around while I study is very stress relieving. "
Being named to receive an SCVMA scholarship " was very humbling
for sure, " Sharona said. " I didn't expect it. I was very appreciative of the
fact that I was recognized by SCVMA. I very much feel that a lot of the
work I do during vet school is very much benefiting me. I'm really glad
that my experience is helping the community. And it's very helpful to me
that I will be able to cover some of the cost of living " with her scholarship
money as she does her fourth-year rotations. P
AUGUST 2023
PULSE
Pulse - August 2023

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