Walhalla Native Named Veterinarian/Lecturer at Tri-County
August 29, 2014
PENDLETON, SC – Walhalla native Dr. Jennifer Nichole Chavis (nee Albertson) returned home to the Upstate this month to accept the position of veterinarian/ lecturer for Tri-County Technical College’s Veterinary Technology program. She replaces Dr. Peggy Champion, who retired August 8.
Dr. Chavis has been working in private practice in Beaufort and Charleston for the past eight years.
“My goal in the job of veterinary technician instructor is to ensure a continued, solid enrollment into the program, as well as producing competent and caring technicians to the veterinary community,” said Dr. Chavis.
Veterinary technicians work closely with veterinarians and other members of the veterinary team to deliver quality animal health care. Their primary responsibilities in a veterinary practice include animal nursing, administering medications, assisting in surgery, taking radiographs, inducing and monitoring anesthesia, client education, hospital management and laboratory duties.
“I recognize the value of licensed veterinary technicians and want to produce nationally competitive veterinary technicians who graduate from Tri-County and do bigger and better things –whether it is getting a job or pursuing further education. Graduates have many options. We can be a stepping stone to whatever the next step is in their career path,” said Dr. Chavis.
She earned a B.A. in English from Clemson University, where she was the managing editor of TAPS, the yearbook for Clemson. She also was a volunteer Tour Guide Association member, and in her fourth year of membership with the Association, she was named Tour Guide of the Year and was the first recipient of the award.
While pursuing a master’s degree in counseling with a concentration in student affairs, she was the graduate assistant in the Visitor’s Center at Clemson, where she coordinated the very first Clemson University Founders’ Day Celebration. Just one semester shy of earning the degree, she decided to change careers and pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. She entered Clemson’s animal science program and was a student employee at Clemson’s horse farm and worked as a veterinary assistant at Seneca Animal Hospital.
She received a B.S. in animal science in 2001 and later earned a D.V.M. from Tuskegee University in 2005. In her first year of veterinary school, she was elected secretary of the Class of 2005 and the student representative to the Student Association of Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA). In her sophomore year, she was elected secretary of SAVMA, the governing board of the veterinary school. During her junior year she was elected president of SAVMA for Tuskegee.
“After graduation, each position I have held has involved education as a core principle. From my very first job right out of veterinary school, my job has involved providing further instruction in the care and welfare of animals. My involvement has been directly with technicians, teaching both concepts and techniques, in schools for career days, at animal shelters, in opening new clinics and providing instruction for their staff and community as well as animal shelters. In private practice, I have been afforded the opportunity to interact directly with pet owners, whose education on pet diseases directly impacts the lives of their pets,” said Dr. Chavis.
Dr. Chavis is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and is a licensed veterinarian in North and South Carolina. She also is a member of the South Carolina Association of Veterinarians and the Trident Veterinary Medical Association.
She and her children, Railey Kay, 5, and Sterling, 3, live in Central. They have an American bulldog, who was rescued after being abandoned in a back yard, as well as a cat that Dr. Chavis rescued while in veterinary school. A goal Dr. Chavis has set is to have a family hike to every waterfall in the Upstate by the time they graduate high school.
