Lauren N. Alfino

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NSU Major

BS Biology, BS Marine Biology

NSU Minor Degree

Marine Ecology

NSU Undergraduate Date

8/2014-5/2018

Highest Degree Completed

Bachelors

Position

DVM Candidate of Colorado State University's Class of 2022

NSU Experience

I graduated in May 2018 with a degree in marine biology and biology, a minor in marine ecology and as the first person in the Honors in Major- marine biology program. I am currently attending Colorado State University as a DVM candidate of the class of 2022. NSU helped prepare me for the doctorate of veterinary medicine by providing me with opportunities such as completing the Honors in Major program where I did research on how growth layer groups in pinniped teeth can provide important information and show changes in time in the environment and in the animal. Many of the professors were very supportive of my endeavors and provided sound advice and encouragement. My advisor for the Honors in Major program, Dr. Hirons, gave me unconditional support and always helped me when I had questions or was struggling.

If I had one piece of advise for students, it would be this: If you never ask, the answer will always be no. Every time I didn't ask a question when I was confused in class, I lost the opportunity to learn and grow. It was only because I asked for more experiences that I learned so much more than the curriculum can offer. If you want to do research (which I swore I would never do my freshman year) or not, still see if there is a project a professor wants done, if a grad student needs help on their thesis or approach a professor with you own ideas. There is only so much you can learn in a classroom but its the experiences in a lab, in the field, in an internship/shadowing program that provide you with the knowledge to confirm what you do or do not want to do with you life.