Bradley Fowler

Bradley is a Senior Pre-Veterinary Science major from Cape Cod, MA who is graduating this May. He will be attending Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine this fall in the class of 2023. Bradley did not take the conventional college path after high school, instead, he decided to take a gap year to gain as much experience as possible in the veterinary field. He worked as a veterinary technician for just over a year at Brewster Veterinary Hospital while also taking a couple of elective classes at Cape Cod Community College.

The following summer, Bradley chose to move to California to go to school and work as an exotic animal trainer/caretaker for a facility that trained animals for Hollywood. He worked with animals including tigers, bears, leopards, lions, and a wolf, learning how to handle them, care for them, and read their behaviors. Bradley stayed in California for two years, but then decided it was time to get back on track with his original plan to go to the University of Massachusetts Amherst for Pre-Veterinary Science. He looked forward to the amazing opportunities to work with all types of livestock and to get a degree in Pre-Veterinary Science.

During his first year at UMass, Bradley had to start from square one with basic Animal Science, Chemistry, and Biology classes, but he still had time to take Equine Management at the Hadley Farm. Even though he had worked with big cats, Bradley was not at all comfortable handling horses. After his first few classes, though, Bradley quickly learned the ropes for handling horses and gained the confidence he needed to work with them. He enjoyed his time in Equine Management so much, that he began to do research with Dr. Cassandra Uricchio on fecal parasites and dewormer resistance in horses that Spring. Once he finished his research, Bradley presented his findings at the Undergraduate Research Seminar, where he met many great people and learned a lot about presenting original research.

Bradley also joined the North East Student Affiliate (NESA) team during his first year at UMass where he practiced quiz bowl questions and learned how to judge livestock for an annual competition. He also decided to be one of the presenters for the team and presented on Ostrich Meat and took 7th place out of the over 30 teams. He then went on to participate in NESA during his second year at UMass, this time presenting on Camel Milk. After his second year participating in NESA, Bradley was selected as one of the student presidents for his third and final year of NESA. As a president, Bradley ran meetings and taught other team members about livestock judging and presentations. In the 2019 competition Bradley’s team took 1st place for quiz bowl and UMass earned 3rd place for overall institution. His time on the NESA team was unforgettable and an amazing learning experience, and Bradley can’t thank Professor John Balise enough for being a great leader during his three years on the NESA team.

During his second Fall Semester at UMass Bradley took Belted Galloway Management, where he learned how to handle cattle, general husbandry, and medical practices. He also attended the UMass AI trip over spring break to be certified in artificial insemination of dairy cattle. During this trip, he also had the opportunity to tour a slaughter house designed by animal welfare specialist, Temple Grandin.

Outside of school, Bradley really began to get a soft spot for horses as he began to hangout with Tequiza (pictured with Bradley). Tequiza really made Bradley realize that horses are clever animals with individual personalities. When Bradley had the opportunity to begin working at the horse barn at the Hadley Farm he jumped at the opportunity.

During the summer of his second year at UMass, he had the opportunity to do research on IUDs in horses with Dr. Carlos Gradil. Bradley gained a plethora of knowledge and experience working at the horse barn and learning about equine reproduction and estrus modulation, which will undoubtedly help him during his future at vet school. During the following fall semester (his third year) Bradley presented his research on IUDs in horses at the CAFE Summer Scholars Research Conference where he had the opportunity to further expand his public speaking abilities.

After three years at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Bradley feels he has learned more and had more hands-on opportunities than had he gone to any other school, and he believes UMass has thoroughly prepared him for vet school. He values all the opportunities in research, animal management, extra-curriculars, and working with animals that he was offered, and he strongly suggests getting involved and taking all of the opportunities offered to you when at UMass. He looks forward to his future at Vet School and his eventual career working as a veterinarian with exotic and endangered animals, specializing in reproduction, in order to help control animal populations and assist in bringing back endangered species from the brink of extinction.