The dual life of a veterinarian firefighter
Mariah Young, DVM, shares how she is saving the lives of pets and people during her work as a veterinarian and firefighter/EMT
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On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, sits down with Mariah Young, DVM, to discuss her life as a veterinarian and a firefighter/EMT in her community. Young explains what lead her to become firefighter during her undergraduate years, and then in veterinary school, how both careers influence each other, the biggest challenges and rewards for doing both, and more.
Below is a partial transcript
Mariah Young, DVM: Gosh, ever since I can remember I've just had this crazy desire to make a difference in the world. Every time I wake up, that's what I think about, is, how can I love those around me better? I've always been really good at learning. I've loved science, and I just enjoy being outside. So veterinary medicine seemed to fit the bill for all of those. But while I was an undergrad, I started volunteering as a firefighter, and I loved it so much. I got to vet school. I found this opportunity to be a resident firefighter. So I lived at the fire station for free, saved me money on student loans, got my firefighting qualifications, my EMT qualifications, and then I loved it so much I never left.
And then COVID-19 hit, and I got kicked out of school for 6 weeks because nobody knew what the safe thing to do was. So in in the name of safety, they said, 'go home. We'll figure it out. We'll have you back in a few weeks.' I transitioned to a full time firefighter during that time because first responders were very much needed, and I've just stayed with it ever since, both careers I've kind of found seem to offer windows of opportunity to enter into people's lives during hard times and show love and kindness in a way that I might not otherwise have those opportunities to do
