Her front yard may scream otherwise, but Halloween isn’t Emily Richardson’s favorite holiday. She loves the candy but gets scared way too easily. Emily comes from a long line of Cougs – most of them are engineers. Come spring, the Port Orchard, Washington, product will be the first Coug in her family with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Emily plans to be an equine practitioner. “Horses were a huge part of my life,” she said. “Obviously, I love animals, but looking at medicine as a puzzle you are trying to solve is what really intrigues me.”
Emily is a thrill seeker. Back at her stomping grounds in western Washington, she’s a frequenter of one of the highest legal bungee jumping bridges in the United States, located in Amboy. She’s made the 191-foot leap of faith several times. “It’s absolutely terrifying, but it’s really fun for some reason,” she said.
Emily did her undergrad in zoology at WSU. On the Pullman campus, her favorite place is a little risky – Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe. “They have the best cheese and the best ice cream,” Emily said. An avid paddleboarder, skier, and hiker, Emily said she loves mountains and hopes to practice in the Pacific Northwest. First, she’s hoping to find some time to explore the Palouse in what’s expected to be her final year at WSU.