Students From Taiwan's National Chiayi University Visit Logan Campus, College of Vet Med

For one week, the Utah State University College of Veterinary Medicine hosted five students and three professors from Taiwan’s National Chiayi University.

They came, they saw, they loved pickleball.

Their enthusiasm was so infectious, by the end of the week, staff members were trying out phrases they’d learned in Mandarin, like “I love you.”

But the purpose of the visit was scholarly as well as social. Between Monday and Friday, the NCYU students met with CVM administrators, professors, researchers and staff. They toured the USU campus before putting on hard hats, safety goggles and vests to walk through the nearly finished Veterinary Medical Education Building at 1400 North and 1200 East.

The visiting group took part in the CVM’s Career Connections Fair at the Eccles Conference Center, where local veterinary practitioners, representatives from various animal-related industries and the American Veterinary Medical Association set up informational booths.

On Thursday, the students took part in two lectures, in “General Pathology” and “Thinking Like a Veterinarian.” They even got involved in one of the labs.

“My absolute favorite moment was getting hands-on during a moose necropsy – specifically, successfully removing the eyeballs,” wrote Lee Zi Yi, a veterinary medicine and virology student at NCYU, via email. “I’ve never dissected a moose before, so it was both thrilling and slightly surreal.”

For part of Thursday afternoon, representatives of the Quinney College of Agriculture and National Resources hosted the group and discussed the shared history of the Quinney College and the CVM.

Rong Yi Kuo, now in her third year at NCYU, said she appreciated the design of the CVM’s new four-year curriculum, having transitioned from previously teaching in tandem with Washington State University for two of the four years required for a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.

“What surprised us most was the intentional ‘backward’ design of the curriculum; by identifying core professional competencies first, the program ensures every course is purposefully aligned with our future careers,” Kuo wrote in an email.

Kuo also mentioned the CVM’s Office of Student Services, saying she appreciated that students are supported both academically and also holistically, through career development and counseling services.

The students and professors zeroed in on the work of the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and expressed their desire to have NCYU students explore future research opportunities there.

Zishan Yeo, a fifth-year DVM student at NCYU, mentioned the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory as a highlight.

“Its well-organized testing procedures, along with necropsy cases from different species – especially the histopathology slides – allowed me to see many cases that I had only encountered in textbooks, or even cases I had never seen before. It was truly eye-opening,” she wrote via email.

Yeo also enjoyed touring the Caine Dairy and the South Farm.

“The farms here are really large and well-equipped,” she wrote. “They provide animals with as much welfare as possible, and also use technology to maximize production and medical management. Most importantly, the Jersey cows and the horses here are very friendly! They come up to people and ask to be petted, which is really adorable.”

The students also sampled axe-throwing as well as pickleball, which they enjoyed so much they are considering setting up a court back home, via a field trip to Cache Valley Fun Park. At least one student was hooked.

“I’d never held an axe in my life,” Lee said. “I discovered it’s the ultimate stress-reliever for a vet student. Between the heavy workload and the pressure of clinical studies, there’s nothing like hurling a giant blade into wood to find your ‘study-life balance.’”