What the Aspens Remind Me

Fall is my favorite time of year.

I love the aspens dressed in yellow and orange, especially along the trails high in the Wasatch Mountains. There is something about walking beneath those leaves that grounds me. My mind quiets. The things that felt urgent a little farther down the mountain begin to take their proper place.

In the busyness of life, sometimes we need to slow down long enough to remember what matters most.

As a veterinarian and practice owner, I know how easily our work can fill every available space. There is another patient to see, another phone call to return, another family needing help. We care deeply, and that makes it difficult to leave some of those responsibilities at the clinic door.

I love this profession. It has given my life tremendous purpose. But I also need time to be a father, a friend, and a person walking a mountain trail with no particular obligation beyond noticing the beauty around me.

Those parts of my life help sustain the veterinarian I am.

That is one reason strengthening the veterinary workforce is a central pillar of my campaign for AVMA President-Elect. When I think about our workforce, I think about the people already doing this work and what will help them keep doing it for years to come.

I think about the new graduate who needs someone to ask how things are going—and stay long enough to hear the answer. The veterinarian whose days off keep becoming workdays. The practice owner trying to care for patients, support employees, and find a little time for family. The colleague who still loves veterinary medicine but is struggling to imagine another decade at the current pace.

We need careers with room to recover, grow, and live.

A walk in the mountains helps me regain perspective. Lasting support also requires changes in our workplaces: meaningful mentorship, reasonable workloads, dependable time away, and teams whose training and abilities are fully recognized. Asking people to take care of themselves carries more weight when we help make that possible.

As AVMA President-Elect, I would advocate for practical approaches that help veterinarians build sustainable careers. I would listen to colleagues across practice settings, bring their experiences into our discussions, and support efforts that help practices retain the people who make animal care possible.

There will always be demanding days in veterinary medicine. I have had plenty of them, and I expect there are plenty ahead. But dedication to our patients should be compatible with being present for the people we love and having something left to give ourselves.

High in the Wasatch Mountains, the aspens remind me to pay attention. To the changing season. To the people beside me. To a life that can pass quickly while I am busy tending to everything else.

I want a future in which our colleagues can serve this profession with purpose and still have room to enjoy the lives they are working so hard to build.

That is a future worth leading toward, together.