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BLACKSBURG -- Lindsey Owens had always liked animals. When she chose to play volleyball at Virginia Tech coming out of high school, one of the many draws of the university was that it had a myriad of enticing majors to choose from, including pre-veterinary medicine.

Many choose veterinary medicine to work with dogs, cats or other house animals. But Owens, a biology major and two-time All-ACC outside hitter for the Hokies, wanted to strive for something bigger. Literally.

For two weeks during the spring, Owens volunteered for an organization called Loop Abroad at the Elephant Nature Park and the Animal Rescue Kingdom in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Her trip was highlighted by performing various veterinary tasks with elephants while also providing free veterinary care for dogs and other local animals. The Orlando native’s experience will prove to be vital as she continues to pursue a career in exotic veterinary medicine for large animals.

“I saw the chance to work with elephants and immediately applied,” said Owens. “It was a great hands-on experience and we actually got to perform a lot of procedures that you normally don't get to perform by just shadowing at a vet clinic.“

Loop Abroad provides real world training to students such as Owens who wish to work with animals. After seeing an email come across her inbox from the Tech biology department this past school year, Owens jumped at the chance to travel to North Thailand.

Considering her success on the court and in the classroom as a recipient of the prestigious Skelton Award – Virginia Tech athletic department’s highest academic honor -- Owens brought back some more memorable experiences to Blacksburg.

“My favorite memory of the trip would be getting to shadow the elephant vet,” Owens remarked. “We learned a lot about elephant veterinary medicine and got to be up close, helping treat the elephants. I was unfortunately only there for two weeks but it was a lot of hands-on learning.”

The most impactful takeaway from her time in Thailand was seeing the treatment of elephants when they are domesticated for logging, tourism and circuses. Owens would work with these large creatures on a daily basis and she found that many had broken legs, hips and had become blind and scarred from human mistreatment.

“People don’t realize how elephants are treated and what it takes to domesticate them,” said Owens. “I hope to tell others about what I learned because education is the best way that we can help.”

Every Virginia Tech student-athlete strives to live by the motto “Ut Prosim”, a Latin phrase meaning “that I may serve.” While the word “serve” is often associated with helping people, the work that Owens did with elephants is no different and it will impact her career for years to come.

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