Listen in as Junior Saint Preux, past SAVMA Chapter President, and Ross veterinary student chats with Dr. Matt Holland about his journey of perseverance. They discuss everything from diversity, equity, and inclusivity efforts on the Ross Veterinary School campus, to the importance of role models, and knowing when to make your move in life is vital for success.
HOST AND GUEST BIOS:
Dr. Matt Holland
Matt Holland, DVM graduated from the University of Illinois CVM class of 2017. He is a Veterinary & Pre-Vet Student Advocate for the VIN Student Team and his interests are Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, mental wellness, environmental health, student debt, & policy. His interest in policy led him to Washington, D.C. after graduating, where he completed the AVMA/AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Congressional Fellowship in the office of Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos and the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship at the USDA National Institute of Food & Agriculture. Originally from a suburb of Chicago, IL, he came to veterinary medicine as a second career. After graduating in 2007 from Drake University with a B.A. in radio and television journalism, he worked as a freelance television producer for various media outlets in Chicago and New York City including Big Ten Network, Major League Baseball Network, and the Chicago Bears. During veterinary school, he found a love for giving back to the profession, and one of his proudest achievements is serving as SAVMA President. He is thankful for the opportunity to keep giving back as a VIN Foundation board member and excited for the future of the VIN Foundation.
Junior Saint Preux
Junior Saint Preux is a 4th-year student at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Originally from Orlando, FL he received his Bachelor’s of Biological Sciences from Bethune-Cookman University. After several twists and turns, Junior had to decide between his athletic career in track and field or continuing his education. Through the support of his fraternity brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., he made his way to Florida A&M University Pharmacy School for one semester before ultimately realizing the importance of being passionate about a direction. Junior knew a career in veterinary medicine was his calling with a desire to help both people and animals. Upon starting at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine he recognized an opportunity to improve the veterinary school experience for himself and his classmates. He began to dedicate his time to SAVMA and was elected Chapter President, where he focused his efforts on addressing the importance of diversity and inclusion and making Ross a safer and more welcoming campus for minorities and underrepresented students. Junior also collaborated with classmates to start the first student chapter of the National Association for Black Veterinarians, creating a safe space for African Americans and allies at Ross. Through this effort, they have also been able to mentor undergraduate students, create their own mentoring program to connect with alumni for guidance and collaborate with the school counselors to address issues regarding the mental health of the minority students. Junior believes in the motto “lifting as we climb,” and continues to focus his efforts in the veterinary profession with this mission.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- National Association for Black Veterinarians: https://nabvonline.org/
- SAVMA: https://www.avma.org/membership/SAVMA
- Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine: https://vet.rossu.edu/
- University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine: https://cvm.missouri.edu/
- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity: https://oppf.org/
You may learn more about the VIN Foundation, on the website, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
If you like this podcast, we would appreciate it if you follow and share. As always, we welcome feedback. If you have an idea for a podcast episode, we’d love to hear it!
TRANSCRIPT
Intro
Jordan Benshea: Welcome to the Veterinary Pulse podcast. My name is Jordan benShea. I’m the Executive Director of the VIN Foundation. Veterinary Pulse is the heartbeat of the profession. Join us as we talk with veterinary colleagues about critical topics, from student debt to mental health, and share stories. Stories connect us as humans, as animals, as a veterinary community. This podcast is made possible through individual donors like yourself, and our technology partnership with VIN, the Veterinary Information Network. Thank you for being here. This episode, VIN Foundation Board member, Dr. Matt Holland is having a conversation with Ross fourth year veterinary student, Junior Saint Preux. Listen in as they discussed the importance of believing in yourself, how role models are critical for success, and Junior’s view of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the veterinary profession. Please check the Episode Notes for Bios, links, and information mentioned. Thank you for listening.
Meet Junior Saint Preux: Background and Journey
Matt Holland, DVM: All right. Well, welcome, Junior. Thanks for joining us this afternoon.
Junior Saint Preux: Oh, anytime, anytime.
Matt Holland, DVM: Yeah, and I guess my first question from me would be what’s your story. Where were you born and raised? How’d you get here?
Junior Saint Preux: Well, as you know, my name is Junior Saint Preux. I’m from Orlando, Florida. I went to Bethune-Cookman University. I graduated Bethune-Cookman University out in Daytona Beach, Florida. That’s more so my background, where I’m from, and I went to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine afterwards. Which brings me here.
Mentorship and Role Models
Matt Holland, DVM: Yeah, and we met because of Jonathan Dumas. He told me that you were one of his mentors in vet school and that you were thick as thieves since the minute you met. So, can you tell me how your paths crossed?
Junior Saint Preux: Well, it was a funny situation. I was actually doing a speech. I was the SAVMA president for Ross University, School of Veterinary Medicine at the time and when Jonathan came in first semester. At his white coat ceremony, I was the one that was doing the speech. You saw this individual; all eyes were on this individual. He was a sharp man, you know, they love his beard, but at the same time his personality. When he walks into the room, he kind of catches the attention of the individuals, of everyone. And it wasn’t until after the ceremony that we all go outside, have refreshments, and such. We’re able to mingle and get to know the students in first semester, where a young man came up to me and he says, “I want to do your job, I want your position.” He seemed very, very interested in the position. In my mind, if we look at diversity, in veterinary medicine, but let’s talk about Ross University. So, it is predominantly white, and for an individual of my same descent and he’s also Haitian just like me, he’s also from Florida just like me, to come up to me and not know me at all but wanting to progress and jump into such a position as SAVMA president -he hasn’t even started his first day of classes yet, was very intriguing to me. It really caught my attention, and I saw his enthusiasm. Just by having a simple conversation with him, you could tell there was a lot more to him, he wanted more out of life. We have very similar backgrounds, so I understood. I saw myself in his shoes where when I was in his position, even before I came to vet school, I had no guidance. And because I saw a piece of myself in this individual, it made me want to pour more time and patience into this individual and teach him how you can get to the position that I’m in, and how you can make it out of the situation that we were previously in and use this position to be able to elevate yourself to help another individual afterwards. And so that’s more so how I met Jonathan. I met his family at the ceremony. They were wonderful individuals. And ever since then, we’ve just continued. We talk about vet med together and flourished from there. He’s doing phenomenal and I’m proud of him.
Matt Holland, DVM: Yes, you talk about how he caught people’s attention when he walked into the room, but you’re the one giving this speech. You’re the one who made it all the way to vet med and into a leadership position first.
Challenges and Turning Points
Matt Holland, DVM: So, you said you had similar backgrounds, but tell me about how you got into veterinary school and what sparked your interest in it. Was there was a turning point that made you interested in veterinary medicine versus going a different direction?
Junior Saint Preux: Well, with me, life had a lot of turns, just in terms of a lot of trial and error. My mom is from Haiti and so she wasn’t really able to show me this right here is a really good path financially or this will help you out when you get older. We didn’t have college funds already put together for us. I’m one of four. So, we really had to try to figure out how we wanted to better our lives. I ran track and field my entire life. I trained with Dennis Mitchell out of Florida, and a lot of professional athletes such as you know, Justin Gatlin and David Oliver, these individuals really poured into me to be able to get out of this situation that I was in, my family didn’t really have much, trying to take me from being a knucklehead on the streets to a well-rounded individual that would be able to contribute to society. When we look at things, yes, when I was younger, I had the same cliche story. You’re picking up stray animals off the street and bringing them home. You know, you’re getting those butt whippings from your parents. There’s a random cat in the house, there’s little bird in the house.
Matt Holland, DVM: And how did you catch a bird? That seems tough to do.
Junior Saint Preux: Well, there’s times where I’ll be walking to school to the bus stop early in the morning, and you hear a little chirp and you open the bushes up, and there’s a little bird that fell out of a tree there. You chase them around a little bit, you scoop them up, you grab a box, run back to the house, put them in a box, and then you go to school. When you come back, hoping the bird will still be there, but you got to dig up a couple of worms. When you’re little, the cartoon show tells you got to get the birds worms. So, you go to dig a hole, pick up some worms, toss it in the box, and then put the box in your room. When you get back home, hopefully the bird ate a little bit.
Matt Holland, DVM: You come back and the bird is gone, but the butt whipping is there.
Junior Saint Preux: Oh, yeah. Oh, the butt was in the flesh. We just going from that transition from an early age it made me want to care for animals. Even though you say I want to be a doctor for animals, you don’t even know what the word for it is at the time, but you know what you want to be. At the same time, because I was young, to be blunt, a young child and in a low-income community, you don’t know how to make that happen. You know you want to do it, but you don’t know how to make that happen. Your family, who are not from the States, don’t know how to make it happen for you, except to just stay in school. So, they tell you to stay in school. I’ve run track my entire life. My coaches poured into me, and there was a time where I was just running track, but I didn’t know where my life was leading. My track coach was able to get me into some great universities to be able to run track and field, won a few conference championships and such with Bethune-Cookman University. Afterwards, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue school. I wanted to continue to run, but with my family still needing things, having financial issues personally, and wanting to be able to do well to show your mother and your family that she didn’t move here for nothing, because she moved here for a better life for us. Also, a better life for herself as well. You don’t want that to go in vain. Running track, I started getting hurt afterwards after college and everything. I had a frat brother that spoke to me. I’m a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. He spoke to me and said, you know, you got good grades, maybe we should go ahead and get back into the books. So, I went to pharmacy school. He convinced me to go to pharmacy school. I went to pharmacy school at Florida A&M University, and that’s when I began to gain a realization. He spoke about finances, and he knew what type of lifestyle I wanted to live, and what I was trying to create, and also how to get there. I think I was more so blinded by how much I could make to be able to create the lifestyle I wanted to live, and so I went for it. He said alright, we’ll go ahead and throw our application in there and we’ll see if we get in. So, we ended up getting in. As I was going through the course, I was passing pretty well, I started to realize how much I did not like pharmacy, honestly. I came to the realization that money will not bring you happiness, and if you’re doing something that you truly love, the finances will follow. The individuals that you want around you and that you want to surround you to be able to create the lifestyle that you want to live will also come if you’re doing what you love. I ended up leaving pharmacy school. I went to the gym one day, and I’m talking to an individual that is also a part of my fraternity. He said he went to Ross University to medical school. Now mind you, I had never met this individual a day in my life. I was just walking into the gym with a friend to get a workout and I saw a brother with my same fraternity shirt on. We kind of fraternized a little bit, fellowshipped together, and he told me a little bit about himself. I told him a bit about myself as well, and we found a common ground. He said, “Well, you know what? Ross University has a veterinary school also. You should probably give it a try”. So, I looked into it, and sure enough, I went ahead and studied for the GRE, and got into Ross University. I’m kind of jumping back and forth here. Which at that time, I was a little skeptical because I just left pharmacy and now I’m going to take more time to go into another profession that I truly know that I want to do. I needed to think about what have I been doing in life? What can I do in life that I’ll never get tired of doing? What am I passionate about? And I knew it was the field of Veterinary Medicine. I had no passions in pharmacy. As I was leaving pharmacy, an advisor at the school said, “you would rather take care of animals than people?” And the facial expression that she gave me really kind of tipped me over the edge. You know, I thank her for this, but it pushed me to make the right life decision for myself.
Matt Holland, DVM: You’re like darn right!
Junior Saint Preux: Yeah, that with my exact answer! That was my exact answer. I think I needed that push and pharmacy school helped me with that realization that while I’m at Ross university, I saw the difference. I saw the difference in my drive to study, in my drive to learn, because I wanted to learn the information. When I was learning in pharmacy school, I was learning just to get by. I wasn’t interested in the information. So, it made learning hard, it made the exams hard, because I didn’t care for the information.
Matt Holland, DVM: I was just going to say I found that it’s important to do what you don’t like to learn what you don’t like, because then you can narrow down and spend time on what you do like. I felt the same way doing a summer research internship after first year vet school. I got about one weekend of that and was thankful it was only for a summer.
Junior Saint Preux: You see, at least you got to it a lot faster than I did. It took me a few times to get punched in the face to finally say, you know, let me go ahead and just do this, because you only live once. You need to find out. There’s no time for what ifs. If this is not working out for you, we have no time to waste. Your family is rooting for you on this. While I was in high school, I did a dual enrollment program at Westside Technical Institute. It was for veterinary assisting. So, I will be at the at the tech school for half the day and the high school for the other half. I had my counselor, named Terry Barton, who is an amazing individual. She still pours into me till this day 10 years later, 11 years later now. When I told her I was in pharmacy school, and that I hated it, she says, “Well, Junior, I don’t really know where pharmacy school came in anyways. We’ve always talked about vet school.” I think my fear of taking another standardized test to get into vet school is what held me back. So, me ignoring my passion, listening to another, going to pharmacy school, kind of knocked me in the head and I said, you know what, stop playing, take this exam, take this GRE test and let’s go ahead and get to where we need to be. So, I went ahead and did that, and I went to Ross University. When I got to Ross University, I was very close minded, I’m going to be completely honest. I was in a lot of clubs in undergrad. I ran track and field in undergrad. A lot of my time was taken by so many things. Yes, I got the work done, but it could have been done better if I would have divided my time, or probably took less of a load when I was an undergrad. So, I told myself that I would give myself that opportunity when I got into vet school. Totally, totally opposite! Individuals would come to me and say, “hey, there’s this position on SAVMA.” I’m like I don’t want to do that. Locked myself in my room, I just want to study, I’m trying to get the best grades I possibly can, which I still was able to do. And just kind of closed myself into a corner, and isolated myself, which was the worst thing I could have done. I told the individual I didn’t want to do anything. And then to turn around, a friend of mine and I were on the beach in St. Kitts and Nevis. A friend of mine that came in with me saw the current SAVMA president, who’s an amazing individual on the beach. I didn’t know her at the time, but the friend that I was with told her I was going to be the next SAVMA president as a joke. So, the current SAVMA president started to talk to me about this, and soon enough, my mindset on getting involved changed. The opportunities that the position was able to provide, and those that I was able to pour into and the lives I was able to help with the position spoke out to me. Also, the individuals I saw running for the position, I didn’t want to speak on my behalf in any room, because representation is big, representation is big to me. And if someone’s speaking on my behalf in a room, I think that I would want to pick that individual. I didn’t see fit individuals running for it. So, I said, you know what, put my name in it. I don’t know how it’s going to go but put my name in there. I ended up becoming SAVMA president and my friends were very shocked, because somebody’s saying that they don’t want to enter any clubs, they don’t want any small positions, any positions anywhere, to go ahead and take the whole pie was, was a big shock. Being in that position opened my eyes, and it gave me so many opportunities to help my community. That’s how I got there and getting there I was able to help and meet individuals like Jonathan, and other individuals that came to Ross University to show how getting involved can better their future, rather than just isolating and just learning information.
Diversity in Veterinary Medicine
Matt Holland, DVM: Earlier you mentioned diversity, and then you said, well, let’s just keep it to Ross for now. Let’s open it up to the profession. I guess a good starter question in this area would be how do you define diversity.
Junior Saint Preux: Diversity, in my eyes, is taking individuals from many backgrounds, walks of life, ethnicities, sexual orientation, all together to be able to meet one common goal. That’s diversity to me, because we are able to get different perspectives on the field through different individuals’ eyes on how to better than common goal. You know, we can cover more bases with different ethnicities. So that’s my definition on diversity.
Matt Holland, DVM: Continuing on your definition then, what do you see as the most pressing issue or issues? What comes to mind in terms of what this profession is doing well in terms of diversity and what it can do better?
Junior Saint Preux: I’d say the most pressing issue right now is overcoming the stigma. The stigma of our clients and different individuals thinking that we’re trying to nickel and dime them every moment, we’re just here for the money. And trying to help those individuals understand that we’re here to better the quality of life, not only for their pets but for them, as well, at the end of the day. People coming in and saying a lot of these things really messes with our mental health also. We say sticks and stones will break my bones, but words truly do hurt, and for us to be able to go home at the end of the day and what we’re thinking about is some of the negative comments that we received throughout our workday. In turn, social media is blowing up. One bad review can not only mess you up for that day, but also your career. And I think that really messes with mental health, also. And to be able to get a bad review, let’s say you’re just starting out in the field, and you get a bad review on social media, yes, it hurts. Social media is something that’s forever, the internet is forever. So, you can get to your 20th anniversary of being a vet and doing amazing work in the field, and you open the internet up and see that review from day one, and it will hurt just the same.
Matt Holland, DVM: I totally agree with words do actually hurt. I don’t really like that “words can never hurt me.” I think words matter, and one bad review can be a game changer. I’ve also, unfortunately, seen it inside our own ranks, so to speak. I’ve got friends who say they don’t want to speak up in a discussion on the internet, because they might be afraid that they won’t get hired down the line. And I think that’s a shame.
Junior Saint Preux: It is a shame. I agree. On top of it, going back to what you were talking about how it also affects diversity, how diversity plays a role. Different clients that come into the field, all have a different vision, and some a common vision of how a vet should look how it should be. And if we don’t fit that description, then some are more inclined to say hurtful things, to do hurtful things. That plays a huge role in trying to get individuals to accept the fact that there are different types of vets, all shapes and sizes, all colors and races. And just understanding that they are there for the common goal of the quality of life of your pet, and the quality of life of you and your family and the community as well.
Matt Holland, DVM: I’m so glad you said community at the very end, because that was going to be my next question.
Community Perception and Veterinary Deserts
Matt Holland, DVM: Growing up, you said in your community, in a low-income community, if you remember, what is the perception of veterinary medicine in your community? Was it a normal thing for people to take their animals to the vet? Was it a normal thing for people to have pets in the first place? What was the thought around veterinary medicine in your community growing up?
Junior Saint Preux: Well, I grew up in a neighborhood called Carver Shores and Timberleaf in Orlando, Florida. I spent a lot of my time in another community in Orlando, Florida called Pine Hills and those that are from Orlando will tell you there are a lot of stray animals in those communities. We have a lot of homeless walking around in those communities, and they have pets themselves. You have breeders in those communities that don’t know exactly how to be a proper breeder or a good breeder. And though they want the animals, they love the animals, there isn’t many veterinary facilities around for them to know, or a place for them to go to for proper care for their animals. To put it in better words, I would say that we lack the opportunity of education in those communities, which in turn is hurting us. Because if individuals knew where to go and that there’s individuals there that are willing to help, then they would. Also, accessible veterinary care, because it is a low-income community, though one may know where to go because they don’t have the funds, they’re not going to.
Matt Holland, DVM: I just heard this term the other day, a veterinary desert. I think it’s the same concept as a food desert, which I learned about studying public health. It’s one thing to know what’s healthy or not to eat, but it’s another thing entirely to have access to that. I think it sounds like what you’re describing is a veterinary desert.
Junior Saint Preux: Right, but at the same time, you have to look at the demographic of the community when we’re talking about, we’ll be honest, the communities full of African Americans. We don’t emphasize enough the care and the importance of veterinary medicine in African American communities. This is because of, let’s say, history. Throughout history, the African American community has been attacked by dogs. It’s been used against us many times throughout history, so that’s one reason why the community shies away, because that is one of the things that we are still trying to break free of. Also, we don’t have individuals in our communities promoting the field of veterinary medicine, to be able to show us that this is possible, that you can learn about the animals that you have in your homes, how to better them in your home, which in turn you’re able to educate others in the community. I think that if we are able to start to reach out to those communities and teach, then we have an opportunity of bettering that community, and in turn bettering our society and in turn bringing more individuals into our veterinary facilities.
Matt Holland, DVM: Well, then that sounds like an answer to the question of what the profession can do better. I think you might tell some veterinarians that they could be doing a better job in the areas that you just spoke about, and they would say, “Well, why is that up to me? Why is that my job?” But nobody else is going to do it for us. It’s not like dentists are going to go to low-income communities and talk about access to veterinary medicine. That’s our job.
Junior Saint Preux: Right. It is our job, and I think that that’s why diversity plays a huge role because we need the individuals that speak these individuals’ language to be able to make a bigger impact or individuals at least willing to go into those communities, learn their language, so that we may be able to better help the animals that are in that community, in turn bettering the community.
Overcoming Racism and Promoting Diversity
Matt Holland, DVM: Do you think there is a relationship between the lack of diversity in the profession and mental health? I think you touched on that.
Junior Saint Preux: But, Matt, there’s a major connection between diversity and mental health. The underrepresented individuals, in my opinion, and also that sit in that position, because the profession is predominantly white, it makes it harder for underrepresented individuals because they feel like they have less resources, they feel like they have less allies, which makes the process of getting into vet school and getting through vet school tougher. So then in turn, out in the field they get scrutiny because of only their race or sexual orientation. So, on top of the stress of trying to formulate a good diagnosis for the best care of a patient, now there’s an added tier of stress, because now you have the microaggressions of clients, because you don’t fit the description of what that client defines as a vet. Does that make sense?
Matt Holland, DVM: It makes sense. Yeah. I wanted to ask did you feel that. You’re talking about with the client, did you feel that at Ross? Now, you’re in your clinical year at Missouri, do you feel that from your classmates at either location?
Junior Saint Preux: Well, I’m just starting out here at the University of Missouri for my clinical year, and the individuals that I’ve met have been great. I haven’t so far come across that type of scrutiny, but I’m just starting out as well. I still have quite some time to go. So, if I do, I’ll call and let you know. At Ross University, my class started out around close to 200 individuals. There was maybe one, two, or three of us that were black, out of a sea of white individuals. There were a few Puerto Ricans as well. Racism did occur on several occasions. That was another reason why I entered the position of SAVMA. When I first got into Ross University, it was different. I was in an entirely different country at this point, and what was different is that the individuals on the islands, again it is predominantly a black island. So, when an individual comes into the school that is black, it’s not very many, so they don’t see many. There was a time when I was walking into school and one of the workers told me to clock in. She pointed out that when you walk into the school, you got to show your ID and instead of asking me for my ID, she pointed out a little box. I was very confused, very confused, and I asked, “what are you pointing at?” She’s like, “Oh, it’s the box to clock in.” You know, I’m here for school. It really surprised her in that moment, because there’s not many blacks walking through there, on a daily basis. Also, going into class and being one of the only black individuals there, you know, it’s hard. I don’t know how to go about this situation, but if I’m going through this situation, there’s many more after me that will also have to go through this. So, I took the position for that reason, as well to be able to emphasize on diversity, and make it a better place for those that come after me. And I feel like we did a really good job, and we are still doing an amazing job. We even started an organization called the National Association for Black Veterinarians at Ross University. It’s one chapter of many that are to come. So, we took those steps to make that better, but what I did is because I experienced a bit of racism at Ross University. But then I started a lot of those things. That’s why I did a lot of things that I did at Ross. But Ross has shown to be making better steps at resolving those and making it a safer place for those of different backgrounds to come and learn. When Jonathan came in and took the reins after me, he continued to push and push and push. And, you know, he pushed the envelope just like I did, and that’s why I was extremely proud of him. He went harder than I expected anybody to go. That’s when he came in and really caught my attention for me to pour into him. I see that continuously growing and growing and growing and Ross University when it comes to diversity growing and getting better at not only teaching us veterinary medicine, but also making it a safer and better place for us.
Matt Holland, DVM: Okay, so when I asked Jonathan this question, he said, I put him on the spot, so maybe I’m putting you on the spot, but is this profession doing enough?
Junior Saint Preux: I don’t think you can ever do enough. Until the situation is completely resolved, I don’t think that you could ever do enough. What I can say is that we’re getting better, because we’re now aware. The awareness alone takes us a long way, and because of that awareness we’re starting to put those building blocks in place to make it better for these individuals coming in, on an individual level, and also as a community. So, I would say the profession is doing well at now addressing the situation.
Matt Holland, DVM: I like what you said. We can really never do enough.
Junior Saint Preux: What we can do is put action towards making it better, and I think we’re doing that and a good job at it. I think along the same line, we need to do better at reaching out to these communities and showing them that there is space in the world of veterinary medicine, there is acceptance in the field of veterinary medicine. Growing up as a child, if you go to my neighborhood, and you ask somebody, “Where do you see yourself in 5,10 years?”, they’ll look at you crazy! I’m trying to figure out where my life is going to be in the next five minutes, I’m trying to make it to tomorrow, because it’s just that rough out there. So, when you come and say where do you see yourself in the next five years, it’s eye opening for me, because I was able to find a way out and I was able to find a way to beat that. What I feel like my job is now and what the field should be doing is showing individuals that there is a way out, and there is a way to be able to create a better life for you and your family. There are individuals that have done that and here’s how. A lot of us really see that the only way out was through probably athletics, and that was one of my ways out. Track and field got me out and I was able to now make a better life for myself. Here I am now. There are also other ways.
Matt Holland, DVM: Would you say you beat the odds?
Junior Saint Preux: I would think so. I would say so, and also in a profession that doesn’t have many like me, African Americans making maybe less than 2% of the of individuals in the field of veterinary medicine. I will say it was a tough road, it took a lot of bumping my head into the wall, different turns like pharmacy school and such, getting hurt in track and field to be able to get myself in position, but everything in life happens for a reason it’s my belief, and I’m here now.
Matt Holland, DVM: One way to look at it would be like the work we can do is change the odds, make it easier for people to beat the odds or change the odds.
Junior Saint Preux: Yes, especially for individuals in historically black universities. I want to insert the black university, like I said before, Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. Well, what I’ve noticed in those universities is that they have a pre-vet track, and when you’re on that pre-vet track, what happened with me was when I graduated, I realized that there were certain courses that my university did not have to meet the requirements to get into vet school. There were some courses that were missing. So, try to do the best that we can to better that track. Also, we have a low amount of individuals at the historically black universities that are interested in veterinary medicine because they don’t really emphasize that there’s a pre-vet track, and they don’t really emphasize the field itself. So, we need to do better about seeking out those individuals, showing them that we have the courses now and we have a track for you to be able to get into the field of veterinary medicine and into vet school. I didn’t even know how to get into vet school. The thing that I did was trial and error and hope. And I prayed hard on a lot of this. Luckily, it’s working out so far. It’s been a tough road, but it’s working out. I think that if we would be able to go into these communities, go into these universities and preach how to get to vet school so they don’t make the same mistakes that I made, and doing the best we can to build that bridge, then we’ll be able to diversify the field more efficiently.
Inspiration and Personal Growth
Matt Holland, DVM: Yes, and something I remember from when we met was how a big inspiration for you was your brother. You wanted it to be an example for him.
Junior Saint Preux: Yes. As we were growing up, we had a troubled childhood, we really did, we had no guidance. We don’t have a father, so we didn’t really know how to be men at an early age. And a lot of things that I was doing when I was younger, I used to do this program called Teens Against Drugs and Alcohol where they would give us a box of candy that was from the dollar store and they would pick us up in the early morning, around say four or five in the morning, give us this box and drop us off in a completely random neighborhood. We don’t even know where they were driving to, we don’t know where we are on Earth. Drop us off in this random neighborhood with this box of candy, and we were to sell this box of candy for $8. So, each box of candy for $8, and at the end of the day, we only got $2 out of that sale. We didn’t get home until maybe close to midnight. So, we’re out there all day, and trying to be able to make money so that we can have shoes, so we can have school supplies. There were times I would go to school and try to sell candy to make a little bit of money, me and my brother wanted to be able to have nice shoes and things. So, we would do that. What really troubled me, and I’ll tell you an honest story. There were times we would have to steal, you know, steal some of this stuff so we can be able to gain funds to give our family a little bit more, and my brother got caught, but I didn’t, and it was on my behalf. It tore me apart that my brother’s life was slowly going down the drain because of an action of mine, action by friends. That really changed me, because I wanted better for him. I wanted him to be great because I knew he could. And now my brother is in Washington, DC. Now he’s working in the White House, and he’s doing an amazing, amazing job. I’m so proud of him for that, but I knew in order for him to be great, I had to be an example. I had to do right. So, I changed my entire lifestyle and mentality in order to do better solely for my brother.
Matt Holland, DVM: Yeah, I got goosebumps the first time you told me that and I did just now, too. That just sounds like a fairy tale ending. You decided to change your character and now your brother’s working in the White House.
Junior Saint Preux: Yeah, yeah and to be honest with you, if you go back in time and you speak to individuals from my neighborhood, and I’ve gone back home and spoken to individuals in my church community, they’re like “oh, Junior, he probably would be dead or in jail by now.” Long time, long time ago, because we were knuckleheads. You were just trying to make a better life for ourselves, and we would cause the trouble. I’ll be honest, we were causing trouble. But I needed to do better, because I knew my brother could do better, and I wanted more for my family. I wanted to be there for my family, and also, I didn’t want my mother moving here to be in vain. I wanted to do better by her also. Her birthday was two days ago. Happy Birthday, again! That was my drive, that’s what got me correct. Since we didn’t have that father figure, my coaches that poured into me, Coach Cooper from Bethune-Cookman University as my track and field coach, them pouring into me, also, Dennis from before, those were the men that I looked up to. They had families, they had wives, they had children. They really showed me how a man should be, and if you really wanted to take care of your family, how you should go about it. So, since we didn’t have that father figure, I had to try to create some sort of comfortability to be able to show my brother how to do it. I think that really played a role in his life. Which puts us in the position that we are now of trying to be better men every single day and individuals of society.
Matt Holland, DVM: That’s really impressive. Lord knows, my brother and I did not get along at all when we were growing up, so I don’t think either of us would have done that for each other.
Junior Saint Preux: Oh, me and my brother had our fair share. You know, I think my mom really regretted when we started boxing, because, yes, we will fight in the house, but then when she put us in boxing, we then came home, and now we were fighting with strategy. But also, it helped us out in the long run, because boxing taught us patience and when to be able to use this type of force, and it’s not needed. It kept us off the streets. Sports kept us off the streets and gave us a better way to use our time, rather than being out in the streets causing trouble.
Matt Holland, DVM: I would argue you need strategy in politics and in medicine, so, either way it is helping you out.
Junior Saint Preux: Right, and the biggest thing was patience. Patience, because there were a lot of times when we were boxing individuals that came into the gym that had never boxed in their life as well. They would just come in the ring, and they’ll be just swinging arms, swinging arms, which is pretty dangerous. But also, it gave them time to tire out. You need patience, you need to wait for them to tire out. It gives you time to think the moment they tire out on how to make a better move. It is like chess, when to make a better move. That’s what a lot of this was about. It taught us in life when to make better moves and at what time.
Closing Thoughts and Reflections
Matt Holland, DVM: I was just going to ask if you wanted to leave the audience with one thing, but honestly, that might have been it. I’ll still ask, I’ll still leave it open in case you got one more nugget.
Junior Saint Preux: One thing that I will leave the audience with is that it is possible. No matter the vision. I don’t want to sound cliché, but even if your ideas sound crazy, and everybody doesn’t agree with it, go with it. Because you don’t know how many lives you will impact by not doing it, how much of a disservice you will be to the future society by not doing it and how much of a disservice to yourself by not doing it. You might be that crazy individual that comes up with the next Amazon or comes up with the next invention that helps the field of veterinary medicine. If you want to be a surgeon within the field, but you want to find a better method of doing the best surgery, less invasive, less painful for your patience, you might be that crazy individual come up with it. But because there’s so many individuals that are small minded, they do the best they can to drive you not to, but it’s up to you to take that as a sign and go for it. Because it is possible no matter what position you’re in, in life. And trust me if you go for it, the individuals that you need fall in place to help you make that happen. And that it’s possible.
Matt Holland, DVM: I love that. I can’t hear that and not add something. It reminds me of when I was in fourth year and I was in ER rotation, and one of the residents found out that I was going into policy after school and not into practice. She told me that I wasted a spot in veterinary school for somebody else who could have had it who would have gone into practice, because that’s what vet school is for. It’s like your counselor who told you, “Wait, you want to go into veterinary medicine?” She was like, “You want to go into policy?” And I was yeah, and you don’t get to make me feel bad about it. I really want to do that, so too bad. I think you nailed it. If your heart is telling you over and over again that you need to go a certain direction, there’s a reason. You better at least listen to it.
Junior Saint Preux: Right. And to be honest with you, her saying that you want to help animals rather than people, I personally feel like I’ve helped way more people throughout this journey than I would have if I was still in pharmacy school, way more people. I’m out in the field, just as again, in my clinical year, but to go back to one thing my coach used to tell me, Dennis told me one time before practice, “Okay, this is going to hurt. You’re going to feel the lactic acid. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, and we know it’s going to hurt, let’s go ahead and get it done.” It’s kind of addressing that you know the road is going to be hard. Now that you know, let’s go ahead and get it done. So, I think that’s more so what I would say, let’s go ahead and be willing to put in the work and be determined, know that it is going to hurt, but it’s going to have a better ending in the long run. And you’ll be able to help more individuals in the long run by the sacrifices that you made now.
Matt Holland, DVM: Yeah, and I’ve got two separate reactions. Yes, totally agree. Let’s go and get it done. And what you said about helping more people because you went the route that you did, than you would have if you stayed in something that wasn’t fulfilling, that you didn’t really care about or have a passion for. That totally resonates. You have to do what inspires you or else you’re not going to get much done in the first place.
Junior Saint Preux: Right, because you need to love what you’re learning in order to truly be a contribution to that community, and also live a better life for yourself. I forgot where I read this quote, “If you’re going to do something that you hate, you’re going to find an excuse to get out of it.” I’m not about to spend four years of my life learning some information that I’m going to find an excuse to get out of later. The field of Veterinary Medicine is that answer for me. I can do this day in and day out without getting tired or without being mad about my decisions. I can impact way more lives and feel good about it at the end of the day, because I’m professing something that I love. Just like pastors, they’re professing things that they love. They love the Lord. They’re preaching every Saturday and every Sunday. My family are Seventh Day Adventists, so we go to church on Saturdays. But they love what they do, and that’s why they’re there.
Matt Holland, DVM: You said you could do it without getting tired. You get back to me at the end of the fourth year. I’m teasing!
Junior Saint Preux: Well, I mean we all gain that compassion fatigue at some point. That’s another thing when you were talking about earlier about mental health, you got to be able to work life balance. I think that that’s another thing that the field is doing well, is addressing work life balance, and being able to conquer compassion fatigue. Also, the field has so many different turns you can make, so many different things that you can do, to where you can just kind of revamp, take a step back and say, “Well, I’ve done general practice, let me go and see what lab animal has to offer, or maybe I want to work with marine life.” There are so many different terrains. That’s one thing that I love about the field is that diversity of opportunity. There are so many ways you can get over the compassion fatigue and keep pushing.
Matt Holland, DVM: Yeah, that’s honestly one of the biggest reasons I chose veterinary school. I did television production for six years, and I knew I wanted to do something different. I wasn’t sure exactly what, so I did a bunch of research and found exactly what you said, the diversity of opportunity in veterinary medicine was greater than in any other profession. I wanted to go to school and not have to go back again, so I thought veterinary medicine would do that. So far, so good.
Junior Saint Preux: You see, hopefully, when I’m done with fourth year, I’ll be saying the same thing!
Matt Holland, DVM: Yeah. Well, Junior, it’s been such a pleasure to talk with you. I promised Jordan, our executive director, that I’d keep it under an hour, but I’m not sure how well I did with that promise.
Junior Saint Preux: Well, I appreciate the opportunity. It’s an opportunity like this that really gives the opportunity to be able to speak out to individuals, give recognition to those that are doing great in the communities, and address the issue that we’re having within our community. So, it gives an opportunity to open individual’s eyes and seek and gain perspective of others on how you can better what you’re doing on a day in your life, myself as well. I really appreciate the opportunity. When I speak to Jonathan, I will thank him as well for pushing me towards you guys.
Matt Holland, DVM: Yeah, for both of you, I think we can say we knew them when! We knew them before they made it big time. Well,
Junior Saint Preux: Hopefully, we will. We’re doing the best that we can, but right now it’s the school, with all those that on board was and coming after us, helping them get through and do the same. So hopefully, we will be able to get the job done.
Matt Holland, DVM: I’ve got faith. I don’t even need to cross my fingers. So, it’s great talking with you and take care.
Junior Saint Preux: You as well. You have a great one.
Outro
Jordan Benshea: Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Veterinary Pulse. Please check the Episode Notes for additional information referenced in the podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, please follow, subscribe, and share a review. We welcome feedback and hope you will tune in again. You can find out more about the VIN Foundation through our website, VINFoundation.org, and our social media channels. Thank you for being here. Be well.
