Meet Erica Gibson

Erica Gibson graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a major in Animal Science in 2019. She was accepted to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the Ontario Veterinary College, and was one of the 103 women who was accepted of the total of 120 students. She works as a student technician at the Ontario Veterinary College and spent her last summer advancing reproductive knowledge in sport horses In her spare time, she trains service dogs and likes to go to the cottage.

When did your love of STEM begin?

Pursuing a career in STEM was interesting to me from a young age because I always had a passion for biology and science. I always did better in those subjects, and so it was kind of a calling, I found. And I just I really enjoyed it.

I decided to pursue a career in STEM when I was probably 4 years old, and every single year they would ask at school what I wanted to be when I grew up and it was always a veterinarian. And they always said oh it'll change, it'll change, and it's never changed!

What did you love most about study in your field of STEM?

I love how much actually applies to the real world and how it has an effect on so many different things. So for example what you may learn in animal medicine has an impact on human medicine and I think that that's really cool.

What advice would you give to young women considering a career in STEM?

What I would say to a young woman interested in pursuing a career in STEM is to go for it. If you're interested in it and you love it, you're going to be successful.