By Donald F.
Smith, Cornell University
Co-authors
Julie Kumble and Melena Hagstrom
It was a
gutsy move. Jane Brunt, an aspiring veterinarian, decided to move from
metropolitan New Jersey to agricultural Kansas to attend college. Relocating to
the Sunflower State to enroll as biology major at Kansas State University would
boost her chances to gaining admittance to the state veterinary college, or so
she thought. Little did she know that this radical change in life style and
location would also result in a fulfilling journey of personal growth along
with her professional success.
Jane Brunt, DVM
Adjusting to the wide-open, wheat-strewn state where people spoke an unfamiliar accent and chewing tobacco, was very different from the populous suburban life to which Brunt was accustomed. It was also difficult, to put it mildly. Support from her family, including her father who had once aspired to become a veterinarian himself before choosing a career in psychiatry, and her own personal ambition and budding independence, were strong areas of support.
Her life
began to change. “I was a pre-vet
student majoring in biology, so I had to take the requisite animal science
courses to fulfill the veterinary college admission requirements.”(1)
Embracing
the strong agricultural presence at KSU, she worked hard during her first year
of undergraduate college to prepare a Hereford heifer for participation at the University’s
Little American Royal Show. For weeks, she led and groomed, fed and broke the
heifer. When the day of the show arrived, her efforts paid off and she and her
charge were awarded second place. Her family, who had traveled the 1,400 miles
to provide their support, was unimaginably proud. For Jane, it was just the
beginning of realizing her potential.
The new way
of life in the state that Brunt would embrace for seven years threw a few
curveballs. She recalled the story of the cowboy, the mice, and a hay bale. The
man, while preparing the arena for the cattle show, unearthed a nest of young
mice. Huddled under the bale of hay, Brunt considered the hairless mice to be
valued, baby creatures. The cowboy, on the other hand, as he stomped on the
mice and mercilessly smothered out their existence, saw them as no more than
pesky vermin that spread disease. Although horrified during this incident, she
came to admire the work ethic of the farmers, who loved and cared for their
livestock, and who were on call for them and their sprawling fields of crops
every hour of every day, from sunup to sundown.
After three
years of undergraduate work, Brunt did indeed gain admittance to the veterinary
college. Friends, mentors, and strong personal and professional relationships
were cultivated. Many years later, in retrospection, she remarked:
I sometimes reflect on many of the 'things' that are listed on my
Curriculum Vitae. Though they may seem impressive to others, to me they are
really quite insignificant compared to the seven years I spent in Manhattan. The
education I obtained there, and values I learned; the life friends that I made,
and the many wonderful memories that I have: all that just gets one line on my
CV. (2)
Today, Dr.
Brunt is the executive director of the grassroots initiative called CATalyst
Council. She is also owner of CHAT, a very successful feline-only clinic in
Towson, Maryland. She enjoys her work as one of the pioneering feline
specialists in veterinary medicine. Whether it’s her experience of going to
school in a place so different from what she’d known during her formative years,
or her natural warm, generous, and driven personality, Dr. Brunt knows how to
bring a diverse community together.
During her
many years in office at the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association, this
ability became clear: “I try to be a voice of reason and bring people from
different backgrounds together…You have to be persistent and positive, and make
everyone see what can happen for the good of the whole.”
Her Type A
personality and reflective lifestyle present a winning combination, and even
today Dr. Brunt finds lessons for self-improvement. One of her more recent
“aha’s” has been to try and be a better listener and be mindful of her tone of
voice.
I’ve learned that “tone of thought” matters a lot, and I’ve
discovered if I can be mindful and empathetic in my thoughts, it will show up
in my words and actions.
This is,
indeed, Midwestern kindness at its finest.
(1) Brunt, Jane, telephone interview with Donald
F. Smith (Cornell University) and Julie Kumble (consultant, Cornell
University), March 3, 2015
