I'm planning to go into veterinary medicine. I knew that before I began volunteering, but my time in volunteer work really helped to ascertain that veterinary work is right for me. Before volunteering at spay and neuter clinics in Helena, I volunteered once per week at a cat shelter in Spokane. This cat shelter has a mostly free-roaming layout, while (attempting) to keep biosecurity risks at bay. The shelter, Partners for Pets, doesn't usually accept cats directly from the public, but one night we did. A litter of five very sick kittens were dropped off by a woman who cared about them, but did not know how to care for them. They were covered in fleas, infected with upper respiratory infections, and still too young to regulate their own body temperatures. When I came in for my shift, I was whisked away to the back room where the sick kittens were divided into two groups: the ones that had a decent chance of living, and the ones that were almost definitely too sick to survive. The kittens that were sick, but had a fair chance at getting through it were all being bottle fed on a heating pad by another volunteer, but one of the incredibly sick kittens needed someone to be there for him. He was a little orange tabby whose eyes were essentially glued shut and who was the smallest and sickest of the litter, I named him Waffles. I held him in a blanket against my chest to warm him up and keep him alive for over two hours until his new foster parent arrived. Unfortunately, Waffles died on the car ride to his new foster's house, but in the short time I had with him he taught me that compassion is critical in many situations, even if it will have a different ending than you hope for. I believe that Waffles died with the knowledge that somebody cared about him, and that alone made everything more than worth it. Even though I did everything I could to save Waffles and didn't succeed, he further inspired me to pursue veterinary medicine. If I had veterinary knowledge, I may have been able to give him treatment that could have saved his life. But instead of dwelling on something that I could not have reasonably done and feeling guilt for what happened to Waffles, I use his story to motivate myself and look forward to all of the animals I'll be able to help and save in the future. I may not have had the knowledge that could have helped him then, but one day I will.

I'm Tiffany Altermatt, an anthrozoology/biology double-major at Carroll College whose goal is to be an equine geneticist and advocate for genetic testing and responsible breeding/husbandry practices. I'm also Tiffany Altermatt, someone who was in a shooting two years and eight months ago and who has been working to overcome it since then. I've had a drive and passion toward animals since before I was old enough to know what those words even meant. My first word was "kitty," and I've inherited my mother's love of horses. She grew up with them her entire life, and spent as much time as possible with them, either riding them or laying in their pasture with them. I've wanted to be a veterinarian for over a decade. The first memory I have of voicing it was when I proudly announced it to my third grade teacher at a parent-teacher conference. In fifth grade I had my whole life as a vet planned out as realistically as a fifth grader could, but in high school my plan went sideways when my FFA advisor told me I needed to research a different career for a class project. Knowing I was interested in genetics, Punnett squares, heredity, and so on, I decided to research animal geneticists. Just like that, my rock solid plan wasn't so solid. I was fascinated with animal geneticists and researched further. I looked into animal embryology, which was interesting, but not as captivating. I looked into becoming a canine geneticist, but dogs hold a smaller piece of my heart than some other animals. Then, I looked into equine genetics and it felt meant to be. A career with horses and genetics and veterinary aspects? Count me in! Thanks to my advisor, I found a career goal that I didn't even know existed. In high school, I kept myself busy and stimulated by doing extracurricular activities. FFA was my favorite activity, but I also competed in Accounting 1 for Future Business Leaders of America. I earned first place at regionals, second place at state, and I went off to nationals in Chicago, IL. My trip to Chicago was filled with a combination of tourist and business conference activities until the award ceremony on Saturday, July first of 2021. I didn't expect to place, I was competing with some of the best accounting minds in the country, after all. Then the list of top 10 placers came up on the screen, in a random order, and my name was on the list. I was shocked, but I managed to clumsily make my way to the stage, where it was announced that Tiffany Altermatt from East Valley in Spokane, WA earned fifth place! For our celebration dinner, my group and I went to a Chinese restaurant, but were in a shooting on our way out. Thirty to forty shots were fired and one person from our group was missing after we ran. He wasn't injured, he just froze in fear. I had PTSD from the incident that I was in counseling for for over a year. It scarred me, but overcoming my PTSD also taught me that I'm more than my experiences, and if I can grow from such a terrifying time, then I can learn and grow from anything. I still get anxious when I hear popping, but I also learned that growing takes time. In a strange way, overcoming my trauma from Chicago taught me that if there are obstacles that I come across on my path to becoming an equine geneticist, I am strong enough to overcome them, even if it takes time.

My passion for animals began when I was very young. My favorite thing was going to my grandparents' farm to see the horses and snuggling up to the kittens where I lived. I've been around animals since the eighth day of my life. My mom grew up in the world of livestock production and was rodeo royalty before she had me, so I was destined to live a life filled with animals. Though I've always loved animals of many kinds, I've been particularly passionate about horses and other equidae. The first time I remember saying I wanted to be a veterinarian was in my 3rd grade parent-teacher conference, but it was not the last. I was sure until my sophomore year of high school that I was going to become a veterinarian, even though the type went from small animal to large animal to equine over time. In my second year of Future Farmers of America membership and agriculture classes, we did a presentation about careers where I discovered the wonderful field of equine genetics, and I immediately fell in love. I was decently wary of the change at first, but then I decided that the best way I could prevent disease and death in foals was to advocate for and perform genetic testing. In some overo patterns, up to 95% of individuals are carriers for a fatal hereditary condition called Overo Lethal White Syndrome and most of the people I've spoken to have never even heard of it. The work I plan to do in the field of equine genetics involves thoroughly informing breeders and horse owners of such hereditary conditions that can lead to devastating consequences, but also providing access and information about how to prevent these issues such as genetic testing. Ideally, conditions like Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency, Lavender Foal Syndrome, and Overo Lethal White Syndrome would be eliminated, a lofty ambition, but my goal is to decrease the number of affected individuals through education and allow an avenue through which breeders can make informed decisions. I'm going to get there by attending Carroll College in Helena, MT and double majoring in anthrozoology and biology on the pre-veterinary track. Anthrozoology is a program that will allow me to better understand the communication and complex relationships between equine, dogs and humans. There are two available pathways in the anthrozoology program: equine and canine; however, I will be focusing mainly on the equine aspect. My love for horses has carried me through many difficult situations, and advocating for practices that are best for the species as a whole is the least I can do to repay them. To educate others about the many horrible conditions these beautiful creatures can face from birth to the end of their short lives is more than my passion. It's my purpose.

I'm looking to care for horses specifically. I've been around horses since I was just a few weeks old, I even have a picture of my mom on her mare (she's 37 now) holding me in her arms. They've always been so majestic and kind to me. Since they've been so good to me, I want to give back to them. My goal is to become an equine geneticist and advocate for humane breeding practices through karyotype research to prevent Overo Lethal White Syndrome (OLWS) and other hereditary disorders. As an FFA member, I'm required to complete an agricultural experience of my choosing. Last year I chose the basics of equine genetics (specifically those effecting exterior phenotype); I created a 27 slide presentation, complete with dichotomous keys that I created for each mutation and coat color. I was so proud that even one person learned from my presentation that white foals from two overo parents may have Overo Lethal White Syndrome and that he knew OLWS occurs when the foal's colon isn't fully developed. Since the third grade I knew I wanted to go into the veterinary field, I just wasn't sure what for exactly. I had assumed at that point that there was only one type of veterinarian that did it all. Through FFA, I discovered that there are so many different careers in veterinary science and decided that veterinary research and advocacy is for me. I love genetics, I love horses, what could be better than both of them put together. I'm attending Carroll College next fall to study Anthrozoology and Biology to better help me in my chosen career. Animals have truly influenced my life and the lives of the people around me, my first dog, Lucky, made me who I am today and I couldn't be more grateful. My mom's old mare has always treated me like her family. My mare has rebelled for my grandma, but always been tender and loving toward me. My grandma's gelding only tried to eat my hair once, but it looked like hay at the time and he profusely apologized when he realized that munching on my hair hurt me. The first colt I had ever seen in real life always came up and whinnied at me when I walked by until I (with permission of his owner) walked up and gave him the cheek scratches he was after. Horses have always done good for me, it's time that I do everything I can for them.

Math has always been easy to me, but that isn't why I love it. I love math because it's about solving puzzles and patterns. A jigsaw puzzle can't keep my focus for long, but I could do algebra and long division all day every day. I even started my middle school and high school math clubs. It's very validating that there is a right answer and it isn't open-ended or debatable. I also blame math for my high SAT and PSAT scores, being in Math! is Cool really helped me develop speed, confidence and composure in high-pressure settings. I have trophies and ribbons from math contests, which is most of the reason I'm so willing to put myself out there and compete. I even refused to use a calculator until I got to my sophomore year of high school because I love division and was afraid I'd lose my skill if I had technology to do it for me. Math is really just a system based on memory and application. If you can remember a formula (which I'm really good at), it won't do you any good unless you know when to apply it (my favorite part). And at this point, I'm pretty sure x is my favorite number.

When I was about 3 years old, my family got our first dog. My dad and his best friend went to a shooting range in a rural part of Washington expecting to have an average time. My dad always says, "The most beautiful black lab came prancing out of the woods smiling with a hoof in his mouth." They had no intention of bringing him home until some teens up at the range joked about shooting him, my dad and uncle, without hesitation, just picked him up and put him in the truck while glaring at the kids. My dad brought him home and we begged my mom to let him stay. His name was Lucky, we were just as lucky to have him in our lives as he was to stumble upon my dad. For years, Lucky was my best friend and my role model. He was gentle, kind, loving and he really would do anything to protect us. The only time he ever chewed on anything or destroyed things was when my family was moving; we were pretty sure he thought we were leaving him like his last owner. He was so overjoyed to come with us to our new house. He always loved everybody, too. In the 14 years we had him at our house, only once did he jump the fence and get between my dad and his client; though, I'm glad he did, that man got charged with armed robbery and assault not even a week later. I always admired Lucky and even though we saved him, I always thought I was the lucky one for getting to know him for so long. At the old age of 15, only four days after Christmas, Lucky passed away and it was the worst pain I've ever experienced. I've been in a car accident, witnessed a shooting, broken my ankle, but nothing compared to the pain I had as I watched my best friend leave. My dad was crying and I was blubbering as we took down the Christmas tree two years ago. I wish he never had to go, but he's really been the one who inspired me to go into animal sciences. We used to sit on the couch together and watch Animal Planet, sometimes I would nap with my head on his stomach as a little kid, he'd run over and nuzzle me every time I cried. I miss him so much. Even when we got a cat, we expected him not to like her, but he always checked in on her and let her play with his tail. We started calling her Lucky's kitty because he took such good care of her. I'm not religious, but he was definitely our little angel, our blessing.