UAFS Grads Part of History at A-State

Written By: Ian Silvester

Three biology graduates from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith are making history at Arkansas State University as members of A-State’s inaugural veterinary medicine cohort. The UAFS trio, made up of Nayda Barbry, Alexus Ferguson, and Colton Turner, is part of this first class with students from all over the nation. All of whom received their white coats on Aug. 8 in front of family and friends.

For Barbry, the White Coat Ceremony was years in the making and included a transfer and major change.

“This was my third time applying to vet school,” Barbry said, noting that all had been out-of-state schools and she hadn’t been accepted. “At a certain moment, I was just thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’ve made it here,’ because it felt so special and unique.”

Barbry began at Henderson State University where she took classes at its flight school to become a pilot, but transferred to UAFS to finish her education after moving to the area with her husband. Once here, she evaluated her options and landed on something she loved: Animals.

“I love animals and being around them,” she said. “So, I got a job at a vet clinic and almost immediately fell in love with the atmosphere there. The people, the staff, the animals, everything. I really loved everything, and the science aspect of it was really cool to see all those things in real-life scenarios.”

In the biology and chemistry classrooms, she gained the foundational knowledge she needed and was able to apply it at work. Her success while at UAFS before graduating in 2023 did not go unnoticed by her professors, who could see she was destined to go far in veterinary care.

“If you have 500 students, she will be the one that does it,” said James Brandli, a biological science instructor. “Nayda is the kind of student every faculty member hopes to mentor. She is focused, thoughtful, dependable, and genuinely committed to learning. … Her admission to veterinary school is an exciting and well-deserved next step.”

Pursuing a doctorate in veterinary medicine only made sense for Barbry with her background as a vet assistant shift lead at the Fort Smith Animal Emergency Clinic and Massard Creek Animal Hospital

She said she was thankful the opportunity came up so close to home.

“I love Arkansas; it’s my home. So, leaving it was not something I wanted to do, but I was going to have to if I wanted to be a veterinarian,” Barbry said. “It’s nice to have this opportunity to become a veterinarian and still stay in the state that I really like and be closer to home.”

Barbry expects to gain exposure to new and familiar animals and practices in the new program at A-State. For the first three years of the program, she will be focusing on lecture- and lab-based work. The final year will be community-led learning, which she said will have students traveling to different clinics around the area (including out of state) and across Arkansas to get hands-on training.

Barbry said there is a buzz and excitement among her cohort, A-State, and the community for the College of Veterinary Medicine’s first class. She said there’s no argument about whether or not it’s a good thing to have the program, and it shows that veterinarians take pride in training more veterinarians.

As for how UAFS is helping play a role in the process, she said the biology and chemistry departments are more than sufficient to provide students with what they need to apply to vet school.

“Vet schools don’t require you to have a pre-vet degree; you just have to fulfill all the prerequisites. I liked that I was a biology major because I got lots of exposure to different types of science that didn’t necessarily pertain to animals, but it gave me a broader outlook on the world itself,” she said.

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• Alumni