Our featured speaker for the Fall 2022 Graduate Hooding Ceremony, Ashley Reeves, comes to us from the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Comparative and Experimental Medicine (CEM) program.

Growing up in Eads, Tennessee, Ashley Reeves was surrounded by animals, and they have always been a major part of her life. As far as she was concerned, there was never a Plan B: her future was going to be in veterinary medicine. She has taken many important steps along this path, including spending the summers of 2012 and 2013 in Africa as part of an internship program where she learned about caring for the many non-domestic cats, such as lions, tigers, leopards, servals, and caracals. Ashley began her professional studies as a veterinary student at UT in 2015 in the dual DVM-PhD program and received her DVM in 2019. In fall 2022, she will cross yet another major milestone in achieving Plan A, receiving her PhD in comparative and experimental medicine.

Ashley’s PhD research has laid the foundation for an effective model to support the ocelot population in Texas. After graduation, she plans to take a position with the East Foundation in south Texas, where she will not only continue her work with ocelot recovery but also expand her efforts in conservation to other species.

Learn more about Ashley and her work, and join us at the hooding ceremony where she will address all the graduates for fall 2022.