Moving Forward in faith
How senior Morgan Patterson embraced her calling to care for animals
by Rebekah Sterling '18
“I’ve always been around animals – cows, horses, dogs, cats, hamsters – you know just any kind of pet, so I have always loved animals. I’ve been wanting to be a vet for pretty much my whole life.”
Morgan Patterson, senior biomedical science and Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major, was recently accepted into Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. After a months-long process of applying, interviewing and waiting, Patterson will be able to continue her journey towards fulfilling a lifelong dream: becoming a veterinarian.
Although Patterson has worked hard to forge a career path for herself, she wasn’t always confident in her calling. At times she struggled to believe she was cut out for the medical field. By the time she got to high school, her doubts about the future were hard to ignore.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a vet anymore or that I didn’t want to talk about the future, I was just scared of it,” she said.
When the time came for her to begin searching for a college to attend, Patterson found herself avoiding the subject altogether.
“My mom said when she was trying to get me to talk about college it was like pulling teeth,” Patterson shared.
"When I came here and met the soccer team, I knew that I would already have a good group of people to be around and I'd be in a place where I would be pushed to get closer to Christ. This was where God meant for me to be."
So, when she was first introduced to HPU at a college career fair, Patterson didn’t feel compelled to apply, in spite of her interest in the university. It took her other passion – the game of soccer – to convince her to begin looking into colleges.
“I got a couple of soccer offers from other schools,” she said. “They were great and I loved that I would be playing soccer, but there was just something that didn’t feel right.”
Then Patterson received a call from Brandon Badgeley, HPU’s head women’s soccer coach.
“When Coach Badgeley reached out to me, I realized he was from Howard Payne, the school I had liked at the college fair, and I knew I needed to go check it out,” Patterson explained. “When I came here and met the soccer team, I knew that I would already have a good group of people to be around and I’d be in a place where I would be pushed to get closer to Christ. This was where God meant for me to be.”
Patterson arrived at HPU in the fall of 2017 with an undeclared major but joined the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy as a way to challenge herself.
“The Honors Academy offered great scholarships and I felt that it would push me more,” she said.
Patterson also quickly got involved in extracurricular activities. She is currently secretary for HPU’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, captain and chaplain of the women’s soccer team, and president of Chi Alpha Omega and Tri Beta, Greek organizations on campus.
“I love staying busy because I enjoy everything that I’m in,” Patterson shared. “Being involved in so much has helped me learn how to manage time really well.”
During her second semester at HPU, Patterson felt ready to declare a major: biomedical science. The decision to enroll in the rigorous program, which is designed for students pursuing careers in the medical field, was not taken lightly. The encouragement of Dr. Kristen Hutchins, professor and department chair of biology, played a large part in Patterson’s decision.
“Dr. Hutchins has been so helpful,” Patterson said. “She immediately started helping me figure out what I wanted do.”
It was in Dr. Hutchins’ health professions seminar class that Patterson first heard from Dr. Jeff Windham, a veterinarian who works at Cornerstone Pet Hospital in Brownwood. Patterson would shadow Dr. Windham in 2019.
“What he said really spoke to me,” Patterson said. “He didn’t sugarcoat anything – he told me exactly how everything is. There are hard times and there are happy times. That was just God placing Dr. Windham exactly where and when I needed to hear him.”
During her time working with Dr. Windham, Patterson assisted in surgeries, dental procedures and appointments.
“As soon as I got to work with him, I thought, ‘Okay, this is what I’m supposed to do,’” Patterson said. “If I hadn’t met Dr. Windham, I don’t know if I would have ended up choosing vet medicine.”
With strong role models like Dr. Hutchins, Dr. Windham and many others, Patterson has received much encouragement and guidance in pursuing her calling to care for animals. She began the long process of applying to vet schools in June 2020. She applied to eight schools, but one stood out to her: Texas A&M University.
“My parents and grandparents went to A&M, my uncle’s a vet and he went to A&M – basically everyone in my family has gone there,” she explained. “A&M also just has a really good vet program that’s pretty established.”
Patterson had an interview scheduled for January, but due to the pandemic, A&M canceled the interviews and chose people solely based on their applications.
On January 21, Patterson woke up to some exciting news – she was accepted into A&M’s vet program.
“I immediately started crying happy tears,” Patterson shared. “I felt such an overwhelming joy. I was ecstatic, to say the least, and proud of myself. It was definitely one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Patterson has accepted A&M’s offer to attend its College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and will begin classes in August. Until then, she will work toward a strong finish for her last semester at HPU. Patterson reflected on how her faith-based learning at HPU can extend into her future education and career.
“At HPU everything is somehow centered around Christ,” Patterson said. “Whether you’re on a sports team or in your classes, everything is led to getting closer to Christ and that doesn’t seem very prevalent in a lot of places. I would love to be able to bring that to the veterinary field.”
Patterson shared how grateful she is for her family’s encouragement and the support system she has found during her time at HPU. She also expressed how the last four years have taught her how to trust God with her future.
“God revealed how amazing the future can be if I trust Him and follow the path He has for me,” she said. “He put a passion in my heart for animals and for the veterinary field, which has led me not to fear the future, but to look at it with excitement and hope.”
Photo #1-4: Senior Morgan Patterson poses with her golden lab, Arlo.
Photo #5: Arlo
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