Transformative Learning in a Community-Based Veterinary Clinic

Abstract

Student learning occurs in multiple contexts and sites, and real-world experiences provide meaningful and transformative learning. In this reflective essay, I discuss my personal experience and observations of student volunteers in a community-based veterinary clinic, sponsored by a community organization I founded in 2019. Through their participation in “People and Paws: Happy and Healthy Together” student volunteers have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a community-based veterinary clinic for low-income, multispecies families. Students are able to question their preconceived stereotypes of low-income families, develop their skills of self-reflection and to begin to see themselves as contributors to the larger community, beyond the university. I suggest that participation in a community-focused event, where students learn about themselves while helping others is a memorable and transformative learning experience, one which has the potential for significant impact on self and future community engagement.