We think veterinary students are awesome! Together with the International Veterinary Students' Association, we are bringing you the stories of vet students around the world.
We are happy to introduce Ganendra Awang Kristandya! He is a vet student at Brawijaya University in Malang, Indonesia.
What’s your favorite animal? And why?
Generally, I try
not to favor any particular animal over another. Though during my internship a few
weeks ago, I fell in love with dairy cows. I found dairy cows to be large and
huge, but gentle creatures, which makes them easy to love.
Can you tell us about yourself?
I live in Malang,
Indonesia. Malang is almost 800 kilometers west from Indonesia’s capitol city
of Jakarta. And when I’m not studying in Malang’s beautiful country side, I
enjoy reading, watching movies and spending time with friends. As a person, I
like to see myself as being “anti-pessimistic.” I have an optimist’s view of
the world. I believe that everyone has the ability to influence the world in a
positive way and I believe that a part of being alive is each of us giving our
own unique gift to the world. For me the pursuit of veterinarian medicine is
one way in which I can positively influence the world. I have three passions,
which actually support my leadership development in veterinary medicine, and I
pursue these in my spare time: public speaking, advocacy for social movement,
and research and writing.
To answer that I would have to quote
Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
–I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” In
Indonesia, many people able to attend university or advanced studies are not
thinking about veterinary medicine as a profession. There are actually few
veterinarians in Indonesia and my pursuit of veterinary medicine in this
country is rare. I chose vet medicine in Indonesia, because I feel as if I am
helping to develop future capacity for my country.
What is it like to study
veterinary medicine in your country?
 |
| Ganendra and his team won the Danamon Young Leaders Award last year for an innovative business idea they developed. |
Can you tell us one of your favorite “veterinary facts” or nugget of “vet advice”?
I once met a dog
trainer, named “Marco,” that changed the way I perceived the human-animal
relationship. Marco told me that when you are dealing with animals, you are
dealing with special creatures. Animals seem to sense purpose and intention,
especially from their handlers and veterinarians. For me, this means that some
animals have no willingness to comply with the vet, while other animals do.
When a vet has a pure willingness and reason to work with animals, then those
animals will be kind to you.
What advice would you give people
considering becoming a vet?
First, I would ask if
they were sure about studying veterinary medicine. And if so, then I would have
to let them know that they have to have a real willingness to study various
animals and multiple subjects. I sometimes think people chose veterinary medicine
because of one particular animal or subject, which may hurt the field. I would
also encourage the attainment or achievement of a dream, or for someone to
understand what goals they want to achieve by being a veterinarian. I would
further advice on character traits for: willingness and persistence to achieve
those goals. I also believe as a veterinarian it is important to pursue other
passions and interests. Studying veterinary medicine is a lot of work and the
most important thing I have learned is that when you are able to treat an
animal in a way that is good, then you are able to treat humans in a good way.
Finally, no matter how challenging the work, I relish the opportunity to become
a vet and I would want to share this passion with people interested in
veterinary medicine!
Learn more about the International Veterinary Students' Association.
Learn more about the International Veterinary Students' Association.
