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Kristen Head
League City, Texas
Animal Science Major
LSU College of Agriculture
Kristen Head’s love for animals is only exceeded by her drive to succeed. As an LSU College of Agriculture animal science major with a pre-veterinary medicine concentration, she saw an opportunity to reach her dreams one year early through the 3+1 program and took it.
The 3+1 program in pre-veterinary medicine was created to allow students in certain majors to apply to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine one year early and earn a bachelor’s degree and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in seven years, instead of eight. Although the program’s accelerated pace is no easy task, Head knew the rewards outweighed the risks.
Q: Being from Texas, how did you find the transition to LSU and the College of Ag?
A: Truthfully, at the beginning I hated being away from my family. LSU is a huge school, but once I settled in, the College of Ag made it feel much smaller. I was able to work as a peer mentor and Tiger Tutor and found my community.
Q: Have you always had a passion for working with animals?
A: I was always that kid who wanted to be a vet. In high school, through FFA, I raised goats, steers, chickens and rabbits. Since then, I realized I wanted to work with large animals. I’m currently trying to decide between a food animal or equine concentration. It’ll definitely be one of those.
Q: What about the 3+1 program appealed to you?
A: The 3+1 program is really amazing. It’s an accelerated track where you take your first three years of undergrad at LSU and apply to the vet school for your fourth year. If you get in, your last year of undergrad becomes your first year of vet school. After your first year of vet school, if everything goes well, you’ll have your bachelor’s degree. The 3+1 program may be a little harder, but the fact that it’s faster and saves an entire year of tuition makes it well worth it.
. V. Todd Miller
This article appeared in the fall 2022 edition of Louisiana
Agriculture magazine.
Kristen Head, an animal science major in the LSU College of Agriculture, joined an accelerated course of study that allows her to enter the LSU College of Veterinary Medicine early. Photo by V. Todd Miller
