I didn't know after college that I was going to go to vet school. I went and worked for a couple of vets, I worked with a large animal vet, I worked on a farm. I worked for a small animal vet clinic. I worked at UMass Memorial doing some volunteer work, doing the child life program kind of going between the human side and the vet side, trying to figure out which I would be better at. I loved the human side but I realized I was probably just too sensitive for that and I got so attached to the kids that I was working with and I didn't think I was probably the right personality for going into human medicine. I would've gone into pediatrics, that was definitely what I loved [laughs], but then I realized that would probably be too emotionally hard for me. So, it was hard being a vet too, but it was something I thought I could handle better.
Julie Bailey was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1974 and attended University of Miami and Colorado State University. Julie began to work for a couple of veterinarians and animal clinics, then found herself volunteering at the UMASS Memorial Hospital in the child life program. It was at the UMASS Memorial Hospital that Julie realized she could not face children day-to-day and not get emotionally attached so she decided to become a veterinarian. Julie currently resides in Clinton, Massachusetts with her son, Benjamin, and works at Becker College as a Director at the Lenfest Animal Health Center. In this interview, Julie discusses the struggles she faced applying for colleges, being divorced and raising Benjamin as a single mother, and overcoming an eating disorder. Julie elaborates upon the importance her family has played in her life as she faced all these difficult challenges, and she gives advice to women of Worcester, and also to students looking to earn become doctors of veterinary medicine.