Meet Jess Mitchell: The Vet Student Who Wants to Change What Access to Veterinary Care Looks Like

From a shelter medicine internship to the microphone of Vet Candy's new student-led podcast, Jess Mitchell is building a career around one big idea: more pets deserve to stay in the homes that love them.

MEET THE FUTURE DR. MITCHELL

Ask Jess Mitchell what she wants people to call her in five years, and she does not hesitate: Dr. Mitchell.

But the two letters after her name are only part of the plan. The veterinary student has her sights set on shelter medicine, expanding access to veterinary care, and eventually helping build a model for affordable treatment that other communities can replicate.

This September, she is adding something else to the résumé: podcaster. Mitchell is part of the student team behind Vet Candy's new vet student-led podcast, giving students a place to talk about veterinary medicine from the inside. That means everything from surviving anatomy exams and clinical rotations to figuring out what kind of veterinarian you actually want to become.

For Mitchell, all of those interests circle back to one question: Who gets left out when we talk about veterinary care, and what happens when someone finally builds a system that includes them?

SHELTER MEDICINE WAS NEVER THE BACKUP PLAN

If veterinary school had not worked out, Mitchell says she probably would not have wandered very far from animal welfare. Her other career choice would have been becoming a humane agent.

“I've always admired the work they do to advocate for animals and protect them from neglect and abuse,” Mitchell says. “It's a career path I had seriously considered pursuing if veterinary school hadn't worked out, and it still holds a special place in my heart.”

That commitment explains one of the biggest decisions she has made so far. When Columbus Humane offered her a position, there was one fairly significant catch: an hour-and-a-half commute. Each way. Every day.

She took the job anyway.

“As someone who has always been committed to shelter medicine, Columbus Humane was a place I had admired long before I had the opportunity to work there,” she says. “I knew the experience would be invaluable to my growth.”

Apparently, when shelter medicine calls, you answer. Even if your GPS has some very bad news for you.

A GOAL BIGGER THAN THE EXAM ROOM

Mitchell's vision for veterinary medicine does not stop at treating animals once they arrive at a clinic or shelter. She wants to address the problems that send pets into shelters in the first place.

“I would love to see a reduction in the number of animals entering shelters,” she says.

For Mitchell, that means expanding access to preventive medicine, spay and neuter services, and affordable veterinary care before a manageable problem becomes a crisis.

“By addressing barriers to care before they become crises, we can create a future where fewer animals need to enter shelters and more pets can remain in their homes.”

Ultimately, Mitchell hopes to help develop a sustainable, replicable model for low-cost veterinary care that practices, shelters, and organizations could use in their own communities.

It is an ambitious goal because she is not simply thinking about how many animals she can personally treat during her career. She is thinking about how veterinary medicine can create systems that allow thousands more animals to receive care.

THE THREE THINGS THAT GOT HER HERE

Veterinary school does not happen by accident. For Mitchell, getting there required plenty of hard work, but she credits three qualities in particular: work ethic, an outgoing personality, and empathy.

Being outgoing helped her put herself in unfamiliar situations, make connections, ask questions, and say yes to opportunities. Her work ethic kept her moving toward veterinary school even when the path demanded long hours and plenty of sacrifice.

But empathy may be the quality that most clearly defines the veterinarian she wants to become.

“Veterinary medicine isn't just about treating an animal,” she says. “It's about understanding the emotions and circumstances of the people behind that animal as well.”

That perspective fits naturally with her passion for accessible care. The person sitting across the exam table may desperately love their animal while facing financial or personal circumstances a veterinarian knows nothing about. Mitchell believes understanding that distinction, without judgment, matters.

“To me, that kind of empathy is one of the most meaningful qualities a person can have.”

BEFORE VET SCHOOL, THERE WERE ROLLER SKATES

Every future veterinarian has an origin story. Mitchell's happens to involve a roller-skating rink.

She earned her first paycheck there and worked at the rink throughout all four years of high school. She still considers it one of the best jobs she has ever had.

“It taught me so much about people, customer service, and working with kids,” she says.

It may not look like obvious preparation for veterinary medicine, but spend four years dealing with customers, coworkers, children, birthday parties, and the occasional dose of roller-rink chaos and suddenly communicating with a stressed pet owner does not seem quite so intimidating.

The people skills followed her into veterinary medicine.

The roller skates, presumably, did not.

YES, SHE THINKS YOU SHOULD GET A CAT

Mitchell also has a challenge for anyone who confidently announces that they are “not a cat person.”

Meet more cats.

“Everyone should try owning a cat at least once in their lifetime, or even better, foster one for a while,” she says. “I truly believe that anyone who says they aren't a cat person just hasn't met the right cat yet.”

She has some fairly convincing evidence waiting for her at home: Bugsy Butters and Bennie Biscuit, her two cats with names that sound suspiciously like they should already have their own podcast.

When veterinary school gets overwhelming, Mitchell has developed a simple reset routine. She heads to a spin class or hot Pilates and then goes home to Bugsy and Bennie.

Sometimes wellness is complicated. Sometimes it is exercise and two cats named after snack foods.

NOW SHE'S TAKING THE CONVERSATION TO THE MIC

This September, Mitchell is stepping outside the traditional veterinary school experience and behind the microphone as part of Vet Candy's new student-led podcast.

The show brings veterinary students into the conversation and gives them a place to talk candidly about the profession they are preparing to inherit: the challenges, the opportunities, the ridiculous moments, the career decisions, and everything that happens between the first anatomy lab and graduation day.

Mitchell brings a particularly interesting perspective to that microphone because she is not waiting until graduation to figure out what kind of veterinarian she wants to become. She already knows the direction she is heading.

FIVE YEARS FROM NOW

Five years from now, Mitchell sees herself as Dr. Jess Mitchell, working toward board certification in shelter medicine, advocating for accessible veterinary care, and finding new ways to improve life for shelter animals and the communities they come from.

She wants fewer animals surrendered because their families cannot afford basic care. She wants more preventive resources available before small problems become emergencies. And she wants to help create solutions that can extend far beyond the patients she personally sees.

The diploma will be an important milestone.

But for Mitchell, becoming a veterinarian was never simply about earning the title.

It is about what she plans to do with it.

Watch for Jess Mitchell on Vet Candy's new vet student-led podcast, with the first episode arriving this September.