Through the Lens: How One Vet Student Is Capturing the Heart of Our Profession

Jessica Wood was one week away from giving up on vet school. The photography business rebrand was ready to launch, the decision had been made, and she had finally made peace with letting go of a lifelong dream. Then her mentor of 15 years called her bluff.

"He thought I was joking," Wood recalls about that conversation three years ago. "He said something along the lines of me regretting that decision for the rest of my life and always wondering 'what if.' I remember the feeling in that exact moment so vividly, when the OH S*** HE'S RIGHT clicked."

Four days later, her application was submitted. That scramble paid off, she got in.

Now a third-year student at Michigan State University, Wood has found a way to merge both dreams into something uniquely powerful: 50 States, 1 Profession, a photography project that's capturing the soul of veterinary medicine one image at a time.

The Lightbulb Moment

The idea sparked during the summer of her second year when Wood noticed a glaring gap in veterinary visual content. Scrolling through veterinary websites, she kept seeing AI-generated disasters, five-legged dogs, headless stethoscopes floating in space, the kind of generic stock photos that made her cringe as both a photographer and a vet student.

"I saw a few photos on some veterinary websites that had been AI generated with five-legged dogs and stethoscopes with no heads on them and had a light bulb moment of spotted potential," she says. "So I grabbed my camera and started taking photographs I felt reflected our profession."

What started as filling a visual void quickly became something much deeper. As Wood shared her work on social media, the response revealed just how much the profession was craving authentic representation.

"After seeing some of the comments left on my photos, I found that a single photograph could evoke emotion in someone," Wood explains. "Some photos even remind me why I chose and continue to choose this path."

Finding the Thread That Ties Us Together

For Wood, 50 States, 1 Profession is about more than creating pretty pictures for veterinary clinic walls. It's about connection—showing that despite practicing in different states, clinics, and roles, we all share the same heart for the work.

"I truly believe that imagery has the ability to bring us together as a profession," she says. "50 States, 1 Profession serves as a visual thread that ties us together and is the perfect way for me to bring both of my adult life dreams to fruition."

There's also a practical side to the passion project. As any vet student knows, the debt load is no joke, and Wood is transparent about the fact that her photography has become a meaningful way to support herself through school. "Being fully transparent, along the way it has become a meaningful way to support myself through veterinary school, since we all know it's not a cheap endeavor."

The Path That Led Here

Wood's journey to vet school was anything but linear. Originally from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she played college volleyball in Illinois before landing in Hawaiʻi for eight years. While there, she had a baby, finished her undergrad, and worked her way through veterinary medicine from the ground up—kennel attendant, receptionist, veterinary assistant. Every role shaped her understanding of the field.

But it was a specific experience in Hawaiʻi that sealed the deal.

Wood became part of a small three-person veterinary team that traveled inter-island on a propeller plane to Lānaʻi, a small island of about 3,000 permanent residents with no full-time veterinary services. Working out of a fully equipped RV, the team provided bi-weekly veterinary services to the community and participated in the island's feral cat trap/neuter program, working closely with the Lānaʻi Cat Sanctuary—home to around 500 cats at the time.

"I learned what it means to practice medicine with limited resources, to lean on teamwork, and to show up for a community that truly depends on you," Wood reflects. "I was part of this team for over a year, and it solidified my passion for service-based veterinary medicine."

Her dream? To return to Lānaʻi someday—but next time, as the veterinarian.

The Wisdom That Comes With the Journey

At this point in her unconventional path, Wood has collected some hard-won wisdom that she wishes she could share with her younger self:

On choosing just one thing: "Don't trick yourself into thinking you can only be one thing 'when you grow up.' You don't have to choose between who you are and who you are becoming, both can exist in the same lifetime."

On failure: "It's okay to fail, it truly has no bearing on your worth as a person. I've finally realized that what really matters is how you pick yourself back up and move forward."

On boundaries: "When I was younger, I was such a people pleaser to a fault that I was scared to set boundaries for myself. I've realized over the years that boundaries protect your time, energy, and peace. Setting boundaries doesn't make me selfish or unkind, it makes me honest and real."

On what others think: "I spent WAY too much time worrying about what other people might be thinking of me. In reality, they were probably spending very little time thinking about me because they were too busy thinking about their own lives."

(She also adds, with a laugh: "Start a solid skincare routine in your late 20s. As I sit here with my 7-step facial bedtime routine and Frownies on my forehead haha.")

Staying Grounded

When the weight of vet school and life gets heavy, Wood has her reset rituals. "Almost always by going outside, rain, shine, or snow," she says about clearing her head. "Taking the dogs out for a hike, walking on the beach, jumping in a lake with my two daughters, rollerblading. I'm a firm believer that the outdoors is nature's therapy."

Saunas also play a huge role in her mental and physical health—"something that speaks loudly to my proud Finnish roots." And then there are the cozier evenings: binge-watching shows with her husband, a fire in the fireplace, and a glass of wine.

She keeps Oprah Winfrey's "What I Know for Sure" on her nightstand for mental realignment when life feels off-kilter. "The thing I love about it most is that it is organized by theme: joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power so I don't have to read it cover to cover to resonate, I can just pick it up and turn to what I'm feeling that day."

What She Hopes You'll Do

Wood is a firm believer that everyone should experience living somewhere other than their hometown at least once—and not just the next city over. Different state minimum, different country for bonus points.

"Stepping outside the place that shaped me forced me to see the world and myself differently," she explains. "Among many things, it taught me how to adapt, start over, and become more independent. Most importantly, it gave me a deeper appreciation and respect for different cultures and the incredible people within them."

Having lived in three very different places—the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Central Illinois, and Hawaiʻi—Wood knows firsthand how those experiences shape how we see people, community, and ourselves. "Even if you eventually return home, you come back changed, with a deeper understanding of who you are and what you want."

Looking Ahead

Wood is currently eyeing a future in either emergency or general practice medicine, but her path has taught her not to box herself in. With 50 States, 1 Profession growing and evolving, she's proving that you really can blend medicine, art, and storytelling into something meaningful.

And maybe that's the real message behind every photograph she takes: We're all in this together, bound by the same love for what we do, the same late nights and early mornings, the same moments of heartbreak and triumph. We just needed someone to show us what that looks like.