University of Georgia
UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Department of Poultry Science
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Student Spotlight: Anna Thomas

Anna is holding a micropipet in a research lab. She is wearing gloves, a lab coat, and protection glasses.
Anna is holding a black and white colored puppy with a view of the mountains in the background.

Anna Thomas's Story

Anna Thomas is a fourth-year undergraduate student double majoring in Avian Biology and Biological Sciences and minoring in Poultry Science. Originating from Dalton, GA, Anna came into the Poultry Science Department already familiar with chickens, having grown up in a rural area. As a pre-vet student during her freshman year at UGA, Anna was accepted to the Food Animal Veterinary Incentive Program offered by the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, which reserves a seat for her in vet school due to her commitment to practice food animal medicine. Eventually, Anna realized that she could make a career in poultry without giving up her dreams of veterinary medicine by combining the two, as she will now pursue her DVM followed by plans to earn her Master of Avian Medicine at UGA.

While Anna’s motivation came from her background in a rural area where she owned chickens, she also had a growing interest in the poultry industry. It interested her regarding “how much it affects human health because poultry is the most consumed protein.” This kind of connection shows how One Health is a central point when entering any aspect of veterinary medicine. Furthermore, Anna appreciates how the career “can combine veterinary medicine with working with chickens while also interacting with farmers, growers, and poultry companies.”

Other than being a UGA student in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), Anna is also involved as an Avian Ambassador for the Poultry Science Department, where she assists the department’s Outreach Coordinator, Dr. Jessica Fife, at recruiting and outreach events. She is also involved in the Bird Watching Club, furthering her love for different bird species; she eventually went on to create a whole Instagram on bird watching (@annasbirdphotos)! Anna has also served as a Biological Science Technician in the Egg and Poultry Production Safety Research Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture, and just completed a summer internship at the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network.

While Anna has an obvious zeal for poultry, many aspects of the department also make her passionate, which led her to become an Avian Ambassador. Anna and many other poultry students express how their favorite thing is how close-knit the department is. Anna tells her point of view, expressing, “When I came to UGA, everyone warned me that such a big university would feel overwhelming because I came from a really small high school…but within Poultry Science, it still feels small.” With professors knowing your name after one class and the 1st-floor lobby letting you walk in and see countless familiar faces, Poultry Science makes a home for its students. With that being said, Anna has had a mentor housed within the department, in particular undergraduate coordinator Dr. Nada Tamim, who has helped Anna secure various opportunities, including her first and current internships.

Anna's wonderful experience at the department didn’t stop at the personnel; it bled into the coursework as well. She voiced how one of her favorite classes was POUL 4200: Avian Anatomy and Physiology with Dr. Andrew Benson. She explained how she’d known the basics about chickens from growing up around them “...but I’d [she’d] never really studied how everything worked biologically.” This eventually helped her in her current-day work, where she participates in necropsies, and, thanks to this course, she has an in-depth understanding of what she’s looking at.

Now, as she approaches her last year of university, Anna is wrapping up her time at UGA and will enter UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine next fall. Reflecting, she reveals how, in these past few years, she is most proud of herself for making it this far and reaching those same goals that once seemed so far away. She’s learned so much on the way, so as a means of giving back and sharing the nuggets of wisdom she’s been collecting, Anna states, “If there’s any advice I could give other students, it would be to do as many study abroad opportunities as you can.” Studying abroad as a student offers many benefits: scholarships, the chance to learn and travel, and much more! With that, we wish Anna luck in her last year here in the Department of Poultry Science and look forward to seeing her continued success.