Kicking off Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month with LVMA cofounder, Juan S. Orjuela

Today marks the start of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month! From September 15- October 15, dvm360® will showcase different Hispanic/Latinx individuals to learn more about them, their role in veterinary medicine, and why celebrating Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month is crucial to the veterinary industry.

To begin the month, dvm360® sat down with Juan S. Orjuela, DVM, to learn about his path to veterinary medicine and how a lack of representation and mentorship opportunities for Latinx/Hispanic veterinary students and professionals inspired him to cofound the Latinx Veterinary Medical Association.

A partial transcript of the interview is below. View the video for more of the discussion.

Juan S. Orjuela, DVM: Through my struggle of being Columbian and a Latinx/Hispanic individual and getting into the profession I was able to notice some gaps with my experience and I did not want others in my position [that are] trying to get into veterinary school [and] trying to enter the profession to not have it as difficult as I had it. I did not have mentorship [or] true guidance and I had to seek all that out myself.