The Long Game: Marcus McCaskill Is Building Toward a Mission Bigger Than Himself

Marcus McCaskill Jr. isn't in a hurry. He's in it for the distance.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln vet student (Class of 2028) has a goal that most people would call ambitious. He'd probably call it necessary. Marcus is working toward creating a wildlife rehabilitation site and sanctuary, complete with reforestation and habitat revitalization. The kind of thing that takes decades, not semesters. The kind of thing that requires becoming someone capable of carrying it out.

"My mission in life is to mold myself into someone that can thrive in pursuit of this task," Marcus says. "I'm dedicated to being the best me I can. Hopefully, those I interact with are encouraged to be better versions of themselves, with regard to both animals and humans."

It's the kind of statement that could sound rehearsed coming from someone else. From Marcus, it reads like a blueprint he's been refining since childhood, when his grandma nicknamed him Curious George, and his grandpa turned multiplication tables into a game called "Dollar Days," rewarding correct answers with a dollar and teaching him that he had the capacity to solve problems on his own.

That curiosity never left. Neither did the warmth. Or the perseverance that got him through the hardest parts of this path — including the most agonizing career decision he's ever made: moving away from his siblings to pursue higher education.

But if you ask Marcus about the easiest decision he ever made, he'll tell you it was committing to apply to vet school. It came as a promise to an old friend. The kind of promise you don't break.

The Loss That Shapes the Vision

Marcus knows firsthand what it feels like when veterinary care is out of reach. His family couldn't afford the surgery that could have saved his first dog, and they lost him as a result. It's a memory that sits at the center of his perspective on the profession he's entering.

"I think the biggest problem facing the veterinary field today is the rising cost of care," he says. "While it's nice that my cohort of students are looking at $100k+ out the gate, I can't help but envision the massive amount of people who cannot afford to pay their vet bills. My family was one of those who couldn't."

It's the kind of awareness that doesn't come from a lecture or a case study. It comes from living it. And it's shaping the kind of veterinarian Marcus is becoming, one who sees the profession not just as a career, but as a responsibility to animals and the people who love them.

A Summer That Changed Everything

In the summer of 2025, Marcus took a six-week internship opportunity at Kobe University in Japan. It wasn't just a line on a resume. It was a reset.

Living in a drastically different culture, making friends from all over the world, seeing sights he never thought he'd see, it gave him a new lens on how his upbringing in the States had shaped him. How life experiences shape personality. How growth happens when you're willing to step into the unfamiliar.

"Also," he adds with a grin, "eating food here forever raised my standards regarding what I eat."

It's that blend of depth and lightness that makes Marcus easy to talk to. He'll discuss environmental responsibility and the failure of civilized societies to responsibly apply their understanding of the world and then tell you that everyone should try brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter on toast at least once in their lifetime.

The Mentors Who Shaped Him

Growing up, Marcus didn't have a lot of access to the kind of adults he felt drawn to. So he found them in fiction. Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda. Master Wu from Lego Ninjago.

"In my younger perspective, I saw these characters as examples of adults that I didn't have much access to in my life," he says. "The way these individuals handled problems displayed their calm nature, wisdom, and old-person humor. Even when they lost, they still found a way to grow."

It's an approach to life he's carried with him ever since. Through the challenges of vet school. Through the moments when things seemed almost unbearable. Through the knowledge that the work he wants to do — wildlife rehabilitation, habitat restoration, building something that outlasts him — won't happen overnight.

Marcus admires people who pursue big passions that aren't fully self-serving. People who dedicate themselves to goals that might appear larger than life, especially when they don't provide a full return in a material sense. It's not hard to see why. He's describing himself.

The Balance Between Growth and Grounding

Marcus practices yoga, meditation, and exercise to clear his head after stressful days. He values humility , "big dogs don't bark," as the phrase goes and believes that remembering your community built you, rather than believing you're self-made, is a healthy way to find grounding.

He also knows that growth has limits. That taking the growth mindset to the extreme can result in burnout, frustration, and a loss of interest in being better. Balance matters. Rest matters. Brown sugar on toast matters.

If there's one piece of advice he wishes he could give his younger self, it's simple: "Keep moving forward to see the brighter days you dream of."

Five Years From Now

Ask Marcus where he'll be in five years, and he'll tell you he'll likely be working as a wildlife veterinarian with a beautiful, wild animal. He hopes to be someone others find an inspiring challenge within. Someone who makes people feel warm. Someone who can make them laugh over the smallest things.

It's a vision that feels both grounded and expansive — much like Marcus himself. He's building toward something bigger than a job title or a salary. He's building toward a mission. And he's doing it one day, one choice, one moment of curiosity at a time.

Because Marcus McCaskill Jr. isn't in a hurry.

He's in it for the distance.

Marcus McCaskill Jr. is a member of the Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine Class of 2028 at the College of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is also a Vet Candy Rising Star, 2026.