The Animal Health and Science Student Organization (AHSSO) hosted a Valentine’s Pet Photo Shoot Fundraiser on Monday, Feb. 10. They provided props and a background for pet owners to bring in their pets and have pictures taken. They charged $5 for one photo and $10 for three photos.
“We usually try to do two photo shoot fundraisers every year,” said Lindsey McNulty, president of AHSSO. “We do a Halloween themed one which people love and come out for, and then we usually do a Valentine’s Day one as well. Last year, we did it in the animal shelter — so it wasn’t a fundraiser, it was just community service — and we took pictures of the animals in the shelter. But this year, we did it as a fundraiser and we had a lot of fun.”
Funds raised from the event will go toward supporting the club’s operations, meetings, and future events.
“We don’t really have the big numbers to be able to do a lot of the big group fundraising, so we try to do fun, little fundraisers for the club to be able to keep running, as well as just providing an event for our members at the same time,” said McNulty.
AHSSO has two other upcoming events this semester: an exotics meeting and a volunteering experience with Small Miracles. The exotics meeting will have ferrets and reptiles and will offer an opportunity for students to meet and learn about these different types of animals. Small Miracles is a therapeutic equestrian center that seeks to help children, adults and veterans through their programs.
“AHHSO typically tries to find students who are pre-vet or just interested in animals in general,” said Kaytlin Lander, vice president of AHSSO. “We all come together and talk about pre-veterinary opportunities, and we host a lot of meetings that are geared towards pre-vet, but also just towards people who enjoy animals.”
They also help students with applying to veterinary school. At their next meeting, they plan to host a Zoom call with alumni who are in vet school or have found other career paths in similar fields. They hope this will help give their members a better idea of what to expect from vet school and be an opportunity to discover other career options that are available.
“If you just want a break from your studying, the events can help to de-stress,” Lander said.
“And we always have fun,” McNulty added. “Everyone’s talkative and gets along, so I would encourage anyone who’s interested to come out, even if they don’t think they’re necessarily going to go into a vet field.”
AHSSO meets every other Monday at 7 p.m., with their next meeting scheduled for Feb. 24. More information about meetings and events can be found on their Instagram at @ahssoetsu.
