Help Daniela become US Veterinarian

Daniela was born and raised in Oaxaca city, Oaxaca Mexico.  Around 7 years of age, she discovered that she had a special love and respect for animals so she told her parents she wanted to be a Veterinarian in order to help them. As she grew her love for animals also grew.  At age 15 she told her parents she would stop eating her future patients, so she went pesco-vegetarian.  Daniela was determined, even though her parents were very concern about her health since they did not know it was actually better for her.

When the time came for Daniela to fulfill her dream of becoming a veterinarian, she moved 8 hours away from home to Veracruz, Mexico in order to study at Universidad Veracruzana,  one of the best schools of Veterinary Medicine in Mexico.  Even though she aced her tests and was the most interested student in her classes, Veterinary School was not easy for Daniela’s heart and she considered quitting right until the end, but with her perseverance and determination she finished as the valedictorian of the class of 2008. At the graduation ceremony she apologized to all the animals who were harmed during her process of becoming a Vet and she appealed to the audience to respect and love all animals, not just our pets. Most importantly for her, she asked the audience to respect wildlife by letting them be wild and free.

Daniela did her residency and social service in a Zoo in Veracruz City. For a year she spent all weekends and holidays, sunrise to sunset, working with exotic and native animals of the region. She learned a lot about medicine in Zoo animals, but she also learned how bad Zoos are for the animals.  This is when she realized she wanted to dedicate her life to working for wildlife, and releasing animals back to the wild became her passion.

After finishing Veterinary School Daniela knew the next step in her education was to know more about wildlife and the issues with their conservation so she applied for several scholarships in order to study for a master degree in Wildlife Conservation in Macquarie University in Sydney Australia from 2009 to 2010.  The Department of Education in Mexico basically handed her around eighteen thousand dollars with the condition of keeping a high GPA so she would not have to return all that money.  Even with 2 part time jobs, a different language and culture, she got the grades required.

 While working toward her master’s degree Daniela not only learned about many issues involving wildlife, but since it was within the environmental sciences department, she focused a couple research essays and presentations on the environmental damages that raising livestock causes the planet.  During a final presentation for the class Attitudes to the Environment, Daniela chose the area of Animal Rights and her presentation was about the case of the dairy cow.  At the end of her presentation the professor asks her if she was vegan.   She answered that she was vegetarian.  The teacher then told her she had no right to talk about animals rights if she was still contributing to the suffering of cows.  That was a total wake-up call to Daniela in that moment.  Because of the teacher's statement, along with what she had already learned about the environmental issues, she realized she HAD to go vegan.  

Daniela vowed to herself she would go vegan as soon as she returned to the US in December 2010.  So that's just what she did as soon as she moved to Tallahassee, Florida

After arriving in Florida, Daniela researched, found, and approached St. Francis Wildlife Association, a wildlife rehabilitation  center located in Quincy.  She started as a volunteer and soon became part of the staff as a Wildlife Technician.  A little more than a year after joining the staff, the Director of the center quit so the Board of Directors decided Daniela was the best choice as the interim Director.  Daniela did not have any idea about how challenging this job was going to be and how it would change her life in so many ways. After 9 months as the Director of the wildlife center, the Board found a new person with more experience, and Daniela was ready to move forward.

Daniela then experienced a personal crisis and decided she wanted to move to a different state so she could focus on achieving her Veterinary license Accreditation in the United States, rather than returning to Mexico to seek emotional support from her parents.  Her goal was to get her US veterinary license so she would be able to help animals by performing spay/neuter surgeries and to contribute to sterilization campaigns.  With her license she would also be able to do pro bono work for wildlife rehabilitation centers.  She put her plan into action and moved to Colorado where, for the last 2 years, she has been working as a Veterinary Technician while studying for all the testing required to earn her accreditation.  This has not been easy, because of the huge gap in educational requirements between Mexico and America, but Daniela sees that it is fair.  She had started this process in the beginning of 2011. She had to enroll with the AVMA’s  Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG), a certification program which consists of four separate steps. Firstly, she had to prove she was certified in Mexico by sending her school papers to ECFVG so they could contact the university in Mexico and confirm that she had graduated.  Secondly, she had to pass the TOEFL (Test Of English as Foreign Language), which she had to take 3 times because of her writing skills. The third step was to pass two different knowledge computer tests, one administered by the ECFVG which took her 3 tries to pass, and the NAVLE (North America Veterinary Licensing Examination) which is the national board test for all American Veterinarians, which she passed on the first try.  Passing the NAVLE means that she has the minimum level as any recent graduate from an accredited Veterinary School in the Unites States.  Daniela is well on her way to achieving her US veterinary license.  All she has left is the 4th step which is a 3 day, hands on, practical test.  For this part, she has to travel to another state and the testing will happen on July 6th, 7th, and 8th.  The cost for this test is $6400.  Daniela has already paid $1000 of the test fee, which was required to reserve her space, and she also purchased her plane ticket.  

To cover the remainder of the test fee she applied to her bank for a loan.  She was certain she would qualify, because she has no debt, she is very responsible, well established in the local community, and because the bank kept sending her letters encouraging her to apply for a personal loan.  Being very independent, this looked like the perfect option to help her move forward with her final phase of testing.  Daniela loves being independent and she is uncomfortable with asking for help of any kind, especially when it comes to money.

Daniela just found out on April 1st that she did not get that loan because she does not have enough credit history.  She was told by the bank to find a cosigner so she asked all the people she thought might be able to help, but was unable to find anyone who could.  She does not have any family in Colorado and her family in Mexico cannot afford to purchase so many expensive American dollars.  Time is running out for her to pay the $5400 that is remaining on the fee.  If she can't come up with it, she will lose the $1000 she has already paid and her spot in the testing center, and her plane ticket will be wasted.  After over 4 years of work, a lot of money for the previous testing, missing her family, and a lot of studying, she is not going to give up easily and she is determined to fight until the end.

This wonderful young woman really needs our help to realize her dream of helping the animals who need her help so much.  If we all pitch in, we can help her to get through this last part of her journey and finally get her on her way to doing the work she has traveled all this way to do.

Daniela isn't comfortable to just ask for money so she would be willing to repay everyone who contributes to help her gain her Veterinary Services accreditation, once she gets her license.  Even though repayment for GoFundMe contributions isn't the norm, please let her know if you would like to be repaid and she will gladly do so.  Anyone who knows her, knows that she is always "paying it forward" as well.

Thank you for any and all help!