Growing up riding and training horses in Moses Lake, Washington, Kaneesha Hemmerling thought that being a horse trainer was her calling in life. Later she fell in love with research, but, as she discovered, her true passion was in veterinary medicine.
“Veterinary medicine perfectly blends those two parts of me and allows me to pursue a career of science and learning while also building strong relationships with my clients and their animals,” she said. “I was missing that human-animal bond component.”
Kaneesha, who also earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science and master’s in veterinary science from WSU, will intern at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, after earning her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
Throughout her tenure at WSU, Kaneesha said she’s built a solid skillset for her veterinary career.
“WSU has given me a broad foundation that I can go any direction with, while still being able to focus on equine-specific education through extra electives and clubs,” she said.
On her way to earning her third degree from WSU Pullman, Kaneesha said she will miss hiking, backpacking, and trail riding on the Palouse with her husband, Spencer, their mixed breed dog and menace, Carl, and their horses, Gee and Doc. Kaneesha is also training Gee for three-day eventing and used to compete fairly regularly before veterinary school.