Page 54 - Scholarship Guide Feb 2020

52 Chia Lee Shen, Shawn

comfortable and joined the family in grieving precious farmland and threatening people’s What advice would you have
for their pet. It was an emotional moment, livelihoods. After tranquilising the animals, for those who are exploring
with the family reminiscing about the ups we transported them on a huge fl atbed
and downs in their pet’s life and how the truck across several towns. Imagine being their scholarship options?
veterinarian had helped them along the way. a veterinary student riding on the back of Signing up for a scholarship is a huge decision
This helped me to understand the variety of a truck with sleeping elephants for over an as it involves planning for at least the next
roles that veterinarians play in the lives of pet hour, fully visible to everyone as we drove 9 to 10 years of your life. While passion is
animals and their caregivers – sharing their past – needless to say, we made the cover important to ensure continued interest in
joy and laughter, sadness and grief, and not of the local newspaper the next day! I also a fi eld of study, in order to stay motivated
just treating the animals when they are sick. got to work with wildlife experts involved in in the job that follows, it is important that
dehorning rhinos to prevent poaching. your goals and interests are aligned with the
What led you to consider a mission of the organisation providing the
career in NParks? These experiences helped to shape my scholarship. As a scholar in a statutory board
such as NParks, your daily responsibilities
As an intern, I asked practising clinical way of thinking about the larger issues of at work will be in the service of the public,
conservation and the illegal wildlife trade,
veterinarians about possible career paths both abroad and here at home. Since then, helping to maintain a liveable space for all
in their fi eld. I learned about the role I have refl ected on the role that NParks can Singaporeans.
that veterinarians play in ensuring public play in enhancing liveability for Singaporeans
health and animal welfare, and that some while coexisting with the animals that share
veterinarians study emerging diseases from our living space.
wildlife and help to prevent outbreaks,
protecting the health of both animals and
people. This led me to fi nd out more about What do you do at NParks’
a scholarship offered by the then Agri-Food Wildlife Management Division,
and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to study and what are some of the
veterinary science, with graduates being able
to work in disease surveillance and manage projects you are currently
animal health programmes. I decided to working on or have worked on
pursue the scholarship. With the formation
of the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) in the past?
under NParks, AVS has since taken up the As a veterinarian in the Wildlife Management
role of safeguarding animal health and public Division, I help to manage human-wildlife
health, and I was welcomed into the NParks interactions. The work is challenging and
family. requires quite a fair bit of thinking on your feet
as wild animals are unpredictable. My team
What were some of the also conducts surveys in our green spaces to
get a sense of the size of animal populations.
memorable/interesting This allows us to more effectively manage NParks Undergraduate Scholarship
Chia Lee Shen, Shawn
encounters during your course wildlife, carry out animal rescues, rehabilitate
of study and why? wild animals and keep an eye out for potential Age
pathogens that may impact local populations
The scholarship allowed me to read of animals and possibly have spill-over effects 29
veterinary science at Murdoch University on humans.
in Australia. Through this fi ve-year course, Attained
I worked with a huge variety of animals Our work in the Wildlife Management Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (with
ranging from companion pets such as dogs Division requires an immense amount of High Distinction), Murdoch University
and cats to large farm animals like sheep, teamwork in order for operations to run
cows and horses. As clinical veterinarians in smoothly. For example, I was involved in Now
training, we learned a diverse range of skills, the seizures of 37.5 tonnes of pangolin scales Veterinarian / Wildlife Management
becoming anaesthetists, surgeons, dentists and 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory in 2019 by
and ophthalmologists (and the list goes on) NParks. This entailed several work streams From
as necessary, so that we could obtain the best such as identifi cation of pangolin species, Victoria Junior College
outcomes for our furry patients. sampling elephant ivory and moving large
shipping containers from point to point. The
In my fourth year, I joined a two-week seizures were a tremendous effort and only
conservation medicine fi eld trip to South possible because the team worked together
Africa. I got to work with local wildlife smoothly and effi ciently to ensure that
veterinarians to tranquilise large game logistical and manpower needs were met.
animals such as elephants, giraffes, antelopes
and rhinos from a helicopter fl ying just above
the treeline. Once, we had to translocate
some elephants that were destroying