Coming Full Circle, Alum Returns to Externship Program
The Externship Program helped Miranda Thomas ‘17 confirm her interest in veterinary medicine as a second-year student at Grinnell College. Now a veterinarian herself, Thomas returned to the externship program as a mentor last spring to help current Grinnell students explore the field of veterinary medicine.
The Externship Program is a career exploration experience organized by the Grinnell Center for Careers, Life and Service. In the Externship Program, students participate in short-term job shadowing with Grinnell alumni and parents over spring break. Externship experiences help students gain first-hand experience with potential career paths and make professional connections.
In 2015, Thomas was a second-year biology student at Grinnell. Thomas had been interested in veterinary medicine since middle school, and CLS matched her with Sara Mathews, who owned and operated a small animal hospital in Florida with her husband. Thomas and Mathews formed a lasting connection, and Thomas ultimately invited Mathews to participate in her white coat ceremony following her completion of the Iowa State University veterinary program.
“The externship was only a week, but I feel the experience helped solidify my interests in veterinary medicine and helped me formulate my goals through the remainder of my time at Grinnell and beyond,” Thomas said.
Eight years later, Thomas reentered the Grinnell Externship Program, this time as a host. Thomas now works as an exotic animal veterinarian outside of New York City, and she welcomed Regan Reedy ‘26 to extern with her last spring.
“When I registered to host an externship student last year, it felt a bit "full circle". I was able to explore this field during my time at Grinnell and then share that opportunity with my visiting student now that I am into my career,” Thomas said. “We were super busy with patients, coordinating with veterinary technicians and other doctors in the hospital, but also chatted about how I use my learning from Grinnell to problem solve and communicate clearly with pet owners and my coworkers.”
Reedy was a first-year student at the time of her externship, and she approached the program as an early step in career exploration. Reedy found that her externship allowed her to understand day-to-day experience of working in veterinary medicine and the career path required to get there.
“I was beyond thrilled to be paired with Dr. Miranda Thomas. Veterinary medicine had always been in the back of my mind. Getting to do hands-on work with Dr. Thomas was phenomenal and she really gave me huge insights into the educational path of a veterinarian as well as the coinciding work environment,” Reedy said.
While Reedy enjoyed her time with Thomas, her most valuable takeaway was that veterinary medicine was not a good match with her skill set and interests.
“Though it was an amazing experience where I got to work with cute little bunnies, cool cockatoos, and small reptiles, at the end of my time with Dr. Thomas I realized veterinary medicine wasn’t for me,” Reedy said. “It gave me so much further insight into what I envision for my future career.”
Reedy was not the only one who benefited from the externship though; Thomas enjoyed offering guidance to a current student and reconnecting with her Grinnell roots.
“The externship program made a large impact on me in developing my career goals, and I just hope to pass that along to the next group of Grinnellians,” Thomas said. “It was such a great reminder of the flexible education and wide-reaching community that Grinnell creates and that the sky is the limit on where we all can go.”
Despite not clicking with the veterinary field, Reegan feels that her externship experience helped her to clarify her career goals and encourages other students to consider the Externship Program.
“If you’re not sure what you want to do or feel lost at the start of your career exploration, apply!”