Jeremiah Pouncy’s Guide to Crushing WVC Nashville
WVC Nashville is almost here, and if you are a vet student trying to decide whether this is the year you finally go, Jeremiah Pouncy has an answer for you. Go.
Jeremiah is a Cornell vet student, Vet Candy Ambassador, and someone who has built more side businesses than most people build study habits. He has worked with SeaWorld San Diego, logged wildlife conservation fieldwork, and somehow still has time to break down why a single conference can change the trajectory of a veterinary career. We sat down with him to get his real, unfiltered guide to making the most of WVC Nashville this August, including the part nobody likes talking about: the money.
Why Vet Students Need to Be in That Room
It is easy to write off a conference as something for veterinarians who already have a job, a license, and a budget. Jeremiah pushes back on that hard.
“People think conferences are for after you graduate, like you earn your way into the room. It's the opposite. The earlier you're in that room, the earlier you start building the relationships and the instincts that actually shape your career. I made connections as a student that I'm still using right now,” Jeremiah says.
For Jeremiah, WVC Nashville is not just lectures and a freebies at the exhibit hall. It is access. Access to specialists you will not meet in a lecture hall, access to practice owners who are actively looking for new grads, and access to a version of veterinary medicine that feels alive instead of theoretical.
“In vet school you're heads down in textbooks and rotations. WVC is the place where all of that turns into real conversations with real people doing the work. You walk the floor and suddenly your career path stops being abstract,” he explains.
There is also the community piece, which Jeremiah considers just as important as anything on the lecture schedule.
“Vet school can be isolating. WVC Nashville puts you in a room with thousands of people who get it, who are excited about the same weird things you're excited about. That energy is something you can't get from a lecture slide,” he says.
How to Save Money and Still Get the Full Experience
Here is where Jeremiah gets practical, because he knows most vet students are not exactly working with a sponsor budget.
Register as a student. WVC Nashville offers free registration for veterinary students. Jeremiah's advice: do not assume you cannot afford to go before you have actually checked the student pricing.
Travel with your class. Splitting a hotel room or an Airbnb with classmates is the single biggest lever for cutting costs, according to Jeremiah.
“Find your people at school who are also trying to go and split everything. Room, gas, an Airbnb if you're driving in. I've done conferences for a fraction of the cost just by teaming up instead of going solo,” he explains.
Look into your school’s funding options. Many veterinary schools have travel grants, club budgets, or SAVMA-style funding specifically meant to send students to conferences like WVC Nashville.
“Ask your student chapter leadership and your administration directly. A lot of schools have money sitting there for exactly this, and most students never ask because they don't know it exists,” Jeremiah says.
Use the exhibit hall strategically. The expo floor is full of free swag, free samples, and in some cases free meals from vendors who want to meet future veterinarians. It will not cover your hotel, but it adds up.
Plan meals like a budget traveler, not a tourist. Nashville has incredible food, and Jeremiah is not telling anyone to skip it entirely. But he does recommend treating it the way you would any trip on a budget.
“There are many opportunities for free meals and events at WVC Nashville, but if you want to splurge on something else you still can. Pick one or two meals that are the experience, the hot chicken, the live music spot, whatever you're excited about. For everything else, keep it simple. You don't need to eat out for every meal to have a great time in Nashville,” he says.
Jeremiah’s Bottom Line
For Jeremiah, the math on WVC Nashville is simple. The cost of going is real, but so is the cost of staying home.
“You're going to spend four years in vet school either way. The question is whether you spend them only in the classroom, or whether you also spend them building the network and the experience that makes the next thirty years easier. WVC Nashville is one of the best, most affordable ways to start doing that,” Jeremiah says.
WVC Nashville runs August 15 through 18 at Music City Center. Vet Candy will be there, and so will Jeremiah. If you have been on the fence, consider this your sign.
Follow Vet Candy’s full WVC Nashville coverage starting in August, with Jeremiah Pouncy and the rest of the ambassador team bringing you live from the show floor.
