From uncertain to unstoppable: CVM graduation marshal finds her calling
When was the last time you checked your email? For Ashley Duncan, a fourth-year DVM candidate, checking emails has revealed new experiences, learning opportunities and the highest honor of an Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine student.
Originally put on the waitlist for the DVM program, Duncan earned one of Auburn University’s President’s Awards and will serve as the CVM’s graduation marshal for spring commencement on Monday, May 4.
“The past couple of months have been surreal, to be honest,” said the Huntington, W.Va., native. “It’s like a kind of a pinch yourself type of situation.”
When Duncan enrolled in the CVM as a first-year student, she initially questioned her ability to perform among her peers. She approached Dr. Melinda Camus, the college’s associate dean for Academic Affairs, and expressed her doubts about whether she deserved to be at Auburn. “She told me day one, ‘You can take on the world. Just because you were waitlisted does not mean you do not deserve to be here,’” Duncan recalled. “And I have driven with that and have tried to take every opportunity that I can.”
It didn’t take long for Duncan to notice all of the professional development opportunities offered to Auburn DVM students, including a microcredential in aquatic animal medicine, a wildlife course on wild African hoof-stock in Portugal at Badoca Safari Park, and AQUAVET® courses — a short-term aquatic animal curriculum sponsored by Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
“I only learned about [Badoca Safari Park] through Dr. Camus’ emails,” Duncan said. “I got to work with giraffes and zebras and all types of different antelope species and ostriches, and got to see both from another cultural perspective, seeing veterinary medicine in another country, and just getting to work with these species I had never, ever worked with before.”
She not only found opportunities around the world, but also within the CVM. Duncan has served as the president of the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA), treasurer of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Association, and as a member of VetaHumanz, a science education outreach program.
Before pursuing her DVM at Auburn, Duncan graduated from Clemson University, dabbling in physical therapy, sports medicine, and veterinary medicine before being accepted to an externship position at Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida, working with non-releasable aquatic animals in 2020. Witnessing the work of the aquatic animal veterinarians on staff working in a fast-paced, team-focused environment helped her reimagine what she could be and inspired her to pursue veterinary medicine.
As she navigated through the program, more aquatic internships and externships made their way into her email inbox. She completed externships at Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. “I learned so much in those times,” she said. “When you’re in it, it’s just so hard to leave it. But it also instills that I want to get back here.”
Gaining mentors in the field, such as Dr. Forrest Townsend Jr., a 1976 Auburn DVM graduate and pioneer in the world of marine mammal medicine, greatly added to her sense of community in aquatic animal medicine. “Go ask for help,” she said. “Everybody wants to help you. Everybody’s like aching to help you and watch you succeed.”
Duncan said she has valued each learning opportunity — from time in the communication suites, identifying how to connect with patients, to learning how to properly care for cases across species.
“I think that’s just what excites me about wildlife, zoo and aquatic medicine is just the unknown, and being able to critically think,” she said. “Every day is going to be different, which is what I wanted. I wanted every day to be a puzzle. I wanted to have a life of learning, and that’s what it is.”
As she prepared for preceptorships and commencement, another email came through her inbox, notifying her as the recipient of the President’s Award for the CVM. “I immediately called my parents… we were all just screaming, and I was almost in tears.”
Shortly thereafter, she received another exciting email — the invitation to be the graduation marshal for the CVM’s spring commencement ceremony.
“It’s just one of the most incredible feelings to have them look and to think about this, and they think, ‘Ashley, Ashley is the person that we want to put in the front of the class,’” she said. “And I just hope I can do it justice.”
After graduation, Duncan will complete a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Illinois.
For Duncan, the future holds a new thread of opportunities and proves that you never know what opportunities your inbox may hold. “When random things come through email, take them up, see if you can do them,” she said.