USU Veterinarian Visits Local Preschool Students

Cache Valley preschool students recently brought in their favorite plush animals for mock exams with Utah State University’s Dr. Kerry Rood to learn about the veterinary medical profession.

Multiple students and parents shared their excitement with Erica Rood, a teacher at White Pine Elementary in Richmond, Utah, before and after the classroom visit.

“My students love presentations like this,” she said. “It helps them gain hands-on learning from professionals, and they feel special when someone comes to visit. I’ve never seen them so interested and attentive during large group. They’re still talking about the visit and how my dad is a veterinarian.”

Kerry Rood, who’s made similar visits to USU’s Dolores Doré Eccles Center for Early Care & Education, echoed his daughter’s sentiment about the importance of the visit.

“Presentations like this are so meaningful because they spark curiosity and imagination at such a young age,” he said. “It’s one thing to learn about animals from books or cartoons, but getting to hear from a real veterinarian — while holding their own beloved stuffed animals — makes it feel personal and exciting. It helps children start to understand that caring for animals is important work and that there are people dedicated to keeping animals healthy. I also think it helps plant seeds about empathy, kindness and even future careers, whether in veterinary medicine or other forms of service.”

The children brought a wide range of animals for Kerry Rood to inspect. One parent even emailed Erica Rood a Wikipedia article about shark rays — a species of ray that resembles a shark and is also known as a bowmouth guitarfish — so that the teachers in the classroom would be familiar with the animal before her son brought in his own toy version. Each student had a moment for their animal to be special.

“My favorite part of the presentation was seeing the children’s faces,” Erica Rood said. “My dad would tap on the stethoscope to make it seem like their animal’s heart was beating. Their faces would light up, and they laughed so hard.”

Erica Rood also appreciated seeing her father in action as an educator.

“It was so special seeing my dad teach my students,” she said. “He was very good at keeping it preschool appropriate. He was so entertaining and had the best energy and facial expressions.”

Likewise, Kerry Rood was impressed by how his daughter managed the classroom.

“It was such a joy to watch Erica in action,” he said. “She has a natural way of connecting with kids — getting down on their level, listening intently and turning complex ideas into stories they could understand. What really stood out to me was how engaged the students were. They were bursting with questions and excited to share their own animal stories. It was a great reminder of the power of hands-on, interactive learning, especially with someone like Erica leading the way.”

He also commended the classroom aides.

“What really stayed with me was how hard the classroom aides were working behind the scenes,” he said. “They were constantly moving around the room, gently refocusing students, and making sure everyone felt included. Watching them balance structure with encouragement was impressive, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for our educators. Activities like this may look simple from the outside, but they’re really the result of a caring, coordinated effort from everyone in that classroom.”