UHD Senior Resurrects a Childhood Dream

Blythe Parham is On Her Way to Veterinary Medicine School

(Houston, Texas, June 25, 2007) Blythe Parham's future holds yapping dogs and slinky ferrets. Oh, yes, plus screeching birds, aggravated cats, panicked bunnies, and an iguana or two. Why?   Parham used to dream of becoming a vet but gave it up. After studying biology at UHD and joining the Scholars Academy, she realized her dream was not totally out of reach. Step by step, research project by science course, it came closer. Last November, she interviewed at Texas A&M University's Veterinary School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The letter came in March.

"I couldn't believe it," says Parham. "To actually have the acceptance in my hand - it was so surreal!"

Real or surreal, Parham plans to complete her Bachelor of Science degree this year and is preparing to start veterinary studies soon after.   She already has a place to live and her first semester's textbooks. But Parham is not just looking forward; she also knows where she's coming from.

"UHD has been a really great school to go to for pursuing this type of field because the classes are so small and, through the Scholars Academy, I've gotten to know all of my professors," Parham says. "I've gotten so much encouragement. I'm really glad that I chose UHD for my BS."

Parham appreciates UHD's low tuition and the stipends she received from Scholars Academy. They helped a lot, especially when you consider she will be facing a debt of $120,000 by the time she finishes vet school. It will be worth it, however, to walk out with that DVM degree into a life she already knows she loves, working with animals. She has worked at a veterinary clinic and spent her childhood around animals, dreaming vet dreams -- she just assumed it was too much to hope for. But UHD is a place where dreams are made, and Blythe Parham can now attest to that.

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