top of page

Bowen leaves his heart with pets

FRI. |3-1-24| FEATURES

     Volunteering for some people may mean getting hours for scholarships or finding a sense of identity, but for senior Jordan Bowen it allows him to follow his dream of being a veterinarian. 

     Ever since Bowen was little, he always knew he wanted to work in the medical field because of his mother.

     “My mother is a doctor, and [I] had the dream of becoming a doctor for the longest time,” Bowen said. “[In] the beginning of high school, I was like I really don't want to deal with people all day, so might as well deal with fun things like animals.”

     While volunteering at the Riverbank Animal Hospital, he learned that being a veterinarian is not only about helping families with their pets, but it's also about helping them with the grieving process. While shadowing a veterinarian, Bowen gets to experience the part of the job where they go into the room and help comfort those who have just lost their pet.

Jordan Bowen .HEIC

Contributed photo

     “I notice a lot of them, they just want someone to talk to, so they like to tell stories of their past pets and they just want someone to listen to them,” Bowen said. “Obviously it’s really sad, but at the end of the day, it is a really good feeling to know that at least they didn’t have a bad experience through one of the worst aspects that they will ever have to do in their life.”

     Although Bowen does love that he gets to positively impact patients' lives by helping them with their pets, there are some negative aspects about the job such as not feeling like you are doing enough.

     “There are times where you feel like you aren’t making much of a change, it has its ups and downs like some days are really good [while others] are really [downing],” Bowen said.

     Working at the animal hospital can be draining.However, Bowen has to encourage himself to keep going.

     “...Especially on the hard days like when you do have to put a dog down,” Bowen said. “You do have to tell yourself that you [are] always doing good, even if that one pet didn’t make it when you still gave it the best shot that they could have.”

     Bowen is also inspired by a veterinarian, Dr. Chandler, whom he shadowed. After going to the vet for the first time and watching her, it became one of the reasons why he kept going back and continuing with this career path.

     “Watching her work, it was honestly inspiring and you learn a lot about what it actually means to help people and to help animals and that really did inspire me to just continue and that’s what's pushing me to work to [become] a veterinarian,” Bowen said.

     Bowen unfortunately had to depart from volunteering since he now has a third period, but he will continue to volunteer during the summer.

     “[I would not be able to get there] until four o'clock but they close at five o'clock,” Bowen said. “[I am planning on] going back during the summer because they offered me a working position now that I am 18.”

     Bowen advises anyone who wants to walk the same path as he does to reach out to anyone they can because in Greenville it’s really hard to find someone who will allow volunteers who are minors.

     “Just keep searching for it and then once you find one, enjoy it, it's really fun [and] have fun with the animals as much as you can because the hard days are going to hit very hard, but it's equally balanced,” Bowen said. “The cute puppies, you get to see all these cute cats and [witness] all these happy experiences.”

bottom of page