Allison Belaunde Did Not See Herself in Vet Med. Now She Is Making Sure Others Do.

At sixteen years old, Allison Belaunde worked the register at a fast food restaurant called Hot Grill. She took orders, cleaned, restocked, and learned in real time what it meant to move through a fast-paced, stressful environment while still treating people with kindness. It was not glamorous. It was exactly the foundation she needed.

Looking back now, as a newly graduated veterinarian starting an internship at Oradell Animal Hospital, she understands what that job actually taught her. Responsibility. Patience. Communication. The value of hard work at an age when many of her peers were not working at all. The specific resilience that comes from balancing school, work, and helping support your family simultaneously.

That resilience is the thread that runs through everything Allison has done since.

The Scholarship That Changed Everything

When Allison was accepted to Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, she received something that transformed not just her education but her entire trajectory. She was selected as an inaugural recipient of Western's Board of Trustees Scholarship, a scholarship created specifically to support students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds pursuing careers in healthcare. It covered fifty percent of her tuition.

That is not a detail. That is the difference between possible and impossible for most students in her position.

What that scholarship did, beyond the obvious financial relief, was anchor something deeper. It told her that her community, her background, her story mattered enough that an institution was willing to invest in her specifically because of it. And receiving that investment further crystallized something she had already been building toward: a commitment to mentorship, advocacy, and creating pathways for students who do not always see themselves represented in veterinary medicine.

As a first-generation Latina in veterinary medicine, Allison carries that responsibility consciously. She knows what it looks like to doubt whether you belong in a space. She knows what it feels like to not see people who look like you succeeding in the field you are choosing. She has built her entire approach to her career around making sure the next generation does not have to wonder.

Leadership Before the Degree

Throughout veterinary school, Allison held an extraordinary number of leadership roles. She served as SAVMA Chapter President. She was the Latinx Veterinary Medical Association Social Chair. She was the Student Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society Event Coordinator. She represented student interests with Purina, Thrive Pet Healthcare, VetPrep, and DVM360.

But the role that probably matters most to her is the one that did not come with a title. She was involved in community outreach with The Street Dog Coalition, an organization focused on increasing access to veterinary care and supporting underserved communities. That work, more than any other, reflects what drives her.

"Talent exists everywhere, but opportunity does not," she says plainly. "I think real change comes from mentorship, representation, financial support, and creating environments where people feel like they truly belong. Representation in veterinary medicine matters because seeing someone who looks like you succeed can completely change what feels possible for the next generation."

She is not speaking theoretically. She is speaking from lived experience.

From Wildlife Medicine to Oncology

When Allison started veterinary school, her career goal was clear. She had long loved zoo and wildlife medicine. It was the dream that had brought her to veterinary medicine in the first place. But somewhere during her clinical rotations, something shifted. She discovered a passion she was not expecting.

Veterinary oncology. The combination of advanced medicine, compassionate patient care, and the kind of deep client relationships that come from walking alongside families through one of the most difficult journeys they will experience with their animals.

That pivot is significant because it shows something about how Allison thinks about her career. She was willing to change direction when the work called to her. She was willing to let the profession shape her goals rather than forcing her goals to fit what she had already decided. She is starting a rotating internship at Oradell Animal Hospital, which will give her the exposure to multiple specialties she needs to understand where oncology fits in her larger professional vision.

But the deeper goal has not changed. She wants to practice medicine at the highest level. She wants to be extraordinary at the clinical work. And she wants to do it in a way that opens doors for people behind her.

The Advice She Wishes She Had

Vet school was brutal for Allison. Not just academically, though it was that. She was twenty-one years old, moving away from home for the first time in the middle of a pandemic that had already stolen her college experience. She was trying to figure out who she was while adjusting to one of the most difficult environments she had ever encountered. She made mistakes during those years that she still reflects on — around friendships, communication, navigating relationships under stress.

But vet school also gave her something precious. Lifelong friendships. Mentors. Leadership opportunities. A sense of belonging that she had been missing for years.

If she could go back and tell her twenty-one-year-old self one thing, it would be this: You do not have to prove your worth by suffering.

"Burnout, exhaustion, and constantly pushing yourself past your limits are not measures of dedication or success," she says. "Veterinary medicine attracts incredibly hardworking people, but taking care of yourself does not make you any less passionate, capable, or deserving of being here."

It is advice she is carrying forward into her career. It is advice she will give to the students she mentors. It is the kind of hard-won wisdom that only comes from surviving something difficult and choosing to come out the other side intact.

In Her Own Words

On who she admires: "I deeply admire people who use their success to open doors for others instead of gatekeeping opportunities. Some of the most impactful mentors in my life were people who made me feel seen and capable during moments when I doubted myself."

On her hero: "My mom has always been my hero. Watching her persevere through difficult circumstances taught me what strength, sacrifice, and resilience really look like. Everything I accomplish feels just as much hers as it is mine."

On representation: "Representation in veterinary medicine matters because seeing someone who looks like you succeed can completely change what feels possible for the next generation, especially in today's political and social climate where many students feel discouraged from pursuing spaces they have historically been excluded from."

What Comes Next

Allison Belaunde is starting her career at Oradell Animal Hospital, one of the most respected specialty and emergency hospitals in the country. She is going to become an exceptional veterinary oncologist. She is going to do the clinical work at the highest level and she is going to do it while remaining rooted in the reason she started this journey in the first place: to be the person she needed to see when she was doubting whether she belonged here.

First-generation Latina. Scholarship recipient. Leader. The kind of veterinarian who uses her success to open doors.

Watch this one.

Allison Belaunde is a newly graduated veterinarian from Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2026. Vet Candy's Rising Stars program recognizes the next generation of veterinary professionals making an impact before they even have their license. myvetcandy.com/rising-stars