Event will include astronaut, veterinarian, physical therapist and RVT as featured speakers
The 20th Annual Veterinary Technology Spring Continuing Education Symposium will be held Saturday, April 19, beginning at 8 a.m., in the Elmer Beckendorf Conference Center at Lone Star College-Tomball.
The event, sponsored by the LSC-Tomball Vet Tech Student Organization, will feature four guest speakers including Astronaut Col. Douglas H. Wheelock; Wendy Blount, DVM; Nancy Doyle, MPT; and Enricka Dillman, RVT; said Director of the LSC-Tomball Veterinary Technology program and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine George W. Younger.
"We are thrilled to have such an experienced slate of speakers who will offer a wealth of real-world experience for our symposium participants," said Younger. "And it is also very exciting to be able to feature a living American hero in Douglas Wheelock."
Col. Wheelock, whose daughter, Ashley, is a first-year LSC-Tomball vet tech student, will give the keynote address on his time as an astronaut and his experiences in space, most recently as co-captain of the successful Space Shuttle Discovery mission. He received a bachelor's degree in applied science and engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point, and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech.
Veterinarian Dr. Wendy Blount, a small animal veterinarian based in Nacogdoches, will talk about animal internal medicine. She is residency trained in Small Animal Internal Medicine and has a DVM and bachelor's degree in veterinary science from Texas A&M University and a bachelor's degree from Rice University.
Nancy Doyle, of Gulf Coast Animal Rehabilitation and Fitness, will discuss her work as a physical therapist for animals helping pets with rehabilitation after surgery using aquatherapy and other methods. Doyle attended Texas A&M University and UTMB-Galveston to receive her Master of Physical Therapy (MPT) degree. She became licensed in Physical Therapy in 1996 and practiced for six years in numerous facilities providing care to humans, including Texas Orthopedic Hospital in Houston. She completed coursework and an internship through the University of Tennessee, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and personal studies to prepare for her transition into the rehabilitation of animals.
LSC-Tomball Veterinary Technology graduate and registered veterinary technician (RVT) Enricka Dillman has had extensive training in veterinary ethics and will discuss ethics as well as pet hospice care.
Registration fees are $100 for veterinarians and $45 for (RVT's) for all day attendance, and $25 for RVT's for half-day attendance. Current LSC-Tomball students and graduates are not charged to attend. Attendees can pre-register by April 16, or at the door on April 19. For more information, contact Kathleen Diamond, RVT, (281) 351-3358.
Lone Star College-Tomball is located at 30555 Tomball Parkway in Tomball.
The Lone Star College System consists of five colleges, including Cy-Fair, Kingwood, Montgomery, North Harris, and Tomball, six centers and Lone Star College-University Center. With 49,250 students, it is the largest college system in the Houston area, and third largest community college district in Texas. To learn more, visit http://www.lonestar.edu/.