2013: MacKenzie Drake with her family soon after the announcement that she has been awarded the Dick Close Scholarship from the Pacific Rim Foundation.
Updates from MacKenzie
April, 2018
This is my final year receiving funding from the Pacific Rim Foundation and I could not be more appreciative. This scholarship has given me the unbelievable privilege of attending a great university and has allowed me to start the schooling for my dream career. I am currently half way through my third of five years at Massey University in New Zealand studying a degree in Veterinary Science. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this degree so far and am so excited to be able to return to Canada and start working.
We are just now starting to get into the nitty gritty of the medicine and treatment side of veterinary science and I could not be more thrilled. The subjects are only getting more interesting and more hands on as time goes on. I cannot wait for fifth year as we spend the year doing clinical rosters throughout New Zealand with the potential for me to return to Canada to do an externship.
I am planning to work in small or mixed animal practice while also gaining experience working with wildlife and marine life. In the future I would like to return to the coast to provide some much needed veterinary services hopefully with my sister who is planning to pursue a diploma in Animal Health Technology. I have seen the need first hand with my own pets, with working with the feral cats in Ucluelet, and as well as through my volunteering with the CARE Network and would like to help in any way I can. Prior to returning to the coast I would like to work in Canada to gain experience ideally practicing in B.C. and or the Yukon.
I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Pacific Rim Foundation for not only the monetary value of the scholarship but also the encouragement that comes along with it. Having the Pacific Rim Foundation and the west coast communities behind me over the last five years has been very encouraging and I have definitely felt the support especially in tough times. Thank you again to everyone and anyone that has had an impact on getting me to where I am and I cannot wait to make my way back to the coast to return the favour.
May 7, 2015
Another year has sped by and I feel like I am getting closer to choosing and applying to the right vet schools for me. Last summer I worked at Whiskey Landing Lodge in Ucluelet, and spent my free time planning fundraisers for Ukee S.C.A.T. We held a garage sale of donated items and had a booth at Ukee Days where we sold frozen treats and provided information. The work that we have done with the cats has clearly worked as we have not had any feral kittens in over a year. This has allowed us to focus our efforts on helping low income citizens of Ucluelet with the cost of transporting and spaying/neutering their cats. There are still feral colonies that are being fed daily, but they are no longer growing. After the summer I moved to Victoria where I lived with my childhood best friend and attended university.
I transferred from UPEI to UVic this year in order to be closer to home. I attended school full time first semester taking sciences classes that will be beneficial for vet school. During first semester I joined a recreation soccer team through the university. Other than that I spent most of my time studying and researching international vet schools that are accredited with the American Veterinary Medical Association. I have chosen three universities to apply to this fall. St. Georges University in True Blue on the island of Grenada which would start in January of 2016, Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, and Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand both of which start in late February/ early March of 2016. I have chosen to attend an international university in order to get the experience of living in a different country while getting a degree in veterinary medicine.
I took second semester off from full time school in order to focus on getting the required volunteer experience in a vet clinic needed for my vet school application. I volunteered at the Victoria-Glanford Animal Hospital twice a week until I moved back to Ucluelet. I also worked at a hotel in Victoria and took a Spanish class at Uvic.
I moved back to Ucluelet at the beginning of April and jumped right in to working at Whiskey Landing Lodge again and continuing my volunteer work with Ukee S.C.A.T. and the C.A.R.E. Network. I also have a road trip planned with a few friends through B.C and Alberta for the first couple of weeks of May. Once I return I will be volunteering at a vet clinic or two in Port Alberni to continue gaining knowledge and experience in the veterinary field. I will be staying and working in Ucluelet until I hear whether or not I have been accepted to a vet school for next year. Upon acceptance I will be moving to a new country and starting a program to get my degree. If I am not accepted into any of the three programs I am planning to take a year off to travel and figure out the best way for me to gain my degree.
The Pacific Rim Foundation has allowed me to actually consider attending an international university without turning away because of the daunting international tuition prices. I was able to focus my energy on school for the first semester without financial stress and then defer my scholarship until I have applied to and hopefully been accepted in to a vet school. This scholarship has continued to allow me to follow my dream of becoming a veterinarian even with a few bumps and changes along the way.
April, 2018
This is my final year receiving funding from the Pacific Rim Foundation and I could not be more appreciative. This scholarship has given me the unbelievable privilege of attending a great university and has allowed me to start the schooling for my dream career. I am currently half way through my third of five years at Massey University in New Zealand studying a degree in Veterinary Science. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this degree so far and am so excited to be able to return to Canada and start working.
We are just now starting to get into the nitty gritty of the medicine and treatment side of veterinary science and I could not be more thrilled. The subjects are only getting more interesting and more hands on as time goes on. I cannot wait for fifth year as we spend the year doing clinical rosters throughout New Zealand with the potential for me to return to Canada to do an externship.
I am planning to work in small or mixed animal practice while also gaining experience working with wildlife and marine life. In the future I would like to return to the coast to provide some much needed veterinary services hopefully with my sister who is planning to pursue a diploma in Animal Health Technology. I have seen the need first hand with my own pets, with working with the feral cats in Ucluelet, and as well as through my volunteering with the CARE Network and would like to help in any way I can. Prior to returning to the coast I would like to work in Canada to gain experience ideally practicing in B.C. and or the Yukon.
I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Pacific Rim Foundation for not only the monetary value of the scholarship but also the encouragement that comes along with it. Having the Pacific Rim Foundation and the west coast communities behind me over the last five years has been very encouraging and I have definitely felt the support especially in tough times. Thank you again to everyone and anyone that has had an impact on getting me to where I am and I cannot wait to make my way back to the coast to return the favour.
May 7, 2015
Another year has sped by and I feel like I am getting closer to choosing and applying to the right vet schools for me. Last summer I worked at Whiskey Landing Lodge in Ucluelet, and spent my free time planning fundraisers for Ukee S.C.A.T. We held a garage sale of donated items and had a booth at Ukee Days where we sold frozen treats and provided information. The work that we have done with the cats has clearly worked as we have not had any feral kittens in over a year. This has allowed us to focus our efforts on helping low income citizens of Ucluelet with the cost of transporting and spaying/neutering their cats. There are still feral colonies that are being fed daily, but they are no longer growing. After the summer I moved to Victoria where I lived with my childhood best friend and attended university.
I transferred from UPEI to UVic this year in order to be closer to home. I attended school full time first semester taking sciences classes that will be beneficial for vet school. During first semester I joined a recreation soccer team through the university. Other than that I spent most of my time studying and researching international vet schools that are accredited with the American Veterinary Medical Association. I have chosen three universities to apply to this fall. St. Georges University in True Blue on the island of Grenada which would start in January of 2016, Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, and Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand both of which start in late February/ early March of 2016. I have chosen to attend an international university in order to get the experience of living in a different country while getting a degree in veterinary medicine.
I took second semester off from full time school in order to focus on getting the required volunteer experience in a vet clinic needed for my vet school application. I volunteered at the Victoria-Glanford Animal Hospital twice a week until I moved back to Ucluelet. I also worked at a hotel in Victoria and took a Spanish class at Uvic.
I moved back to Ucluelet at the beginning of April and jumped right in to working at Whiskey Landing Lodge again and continuing my volunteer work with Ukee S.C.A.T. and the C.A.R.E. Network. I also have a road trip planned with a few friends through B.C and Alberta for the first couple of weeks of May. Once I return I will be volunteering at a vet clinic or two in Port Alberni to continue gaining knowledge and experience in the veterinary field. I will be staying and working in Ucluelet until I hear whether or not I have been accepted to a vet school for next year. Upon acceptance I will be moving to a new country and starting a program to get my degree. If I am not accepted into any of the three programs I am planning to take a year off to travel and figure out the best way for me to gain my degree.
The Pacific Rim Foundation has allowed me to actually consider attending an international university without turning away because of the daunting international tuition prices. I was able to focus my energy on school for the first semester without financial stress and then defer my scholarship until I have applied to and hopefully been accepted in to a vet school. This scholarship has continued to allow me to follow my dream of becoming a veterinarian even with a few bumps and changes along the way.
