Dr. Edris Grate is a small animal primary care provider at VCA’s St. Clair Shores Animal Hospital in Michigan. A native of Baltimore, MD, he graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2017 with an Animal Science degree and earned his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Purdue University in 2021. He tells us about his journey in veterinary medicine.

When I was five or six years old, my father asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.
At the time, I wanted to be like Steve Irwin or Jack Hannah. Our family would travel to zoos, aquariums and parks. Seeing the animals at those places solidified what I wanted to do. Plus, my aunt worked at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The very first time I was able to see or talk to a veterinarian in person was when my father took me to a local veterinary hospital and the owner talked to me a little bit. My actual first shadowing experience, though, happened during undergrad at North Carolina A&T State University. My advisor was the first African American to graduate from North Carolina State’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

Applying for veterinary school was fun for me.
I was part of the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) program. I went to two conferences and Purdue was there recruiting for a minorities-based access to veterinary medicine program (AARC) to help minority students get into veterinary school. I was one of the few black males interested, my undergraduate advisor and Purdue's program director encouraged me to apply. Through the program that summer, I was able to apply for Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine. I was accepted and eventually started at Purdue a year later.

At Purdue, Dr. SanMiguel had a program called “This is How We Role” to connect kids with veterinary medicine at a young age and keep that contact as kids grow up. We’d go to Boys and Girls Clubs or after school programs in the area to talk to kids about vet med, animal health, and human health. That was one of the best programs for me, because I’m the eldest of six kids. Being around kids always keeps me grounded and balanced.

Now, at VCA, my medical director and I go to a local Boys and Girls Club on Tuesdays as part of Purdue’s Vetahumanz program.
The kids keep you on your toes and make sure you know your stuff. The program was started at Purdue, but once you graduate you can continue it in your local area. VCA started a partnership with Purdue because they wanted to support that mission.

I chose VCA because it allowed me to come to Michigan, where my fiancée was already established.
I got an externship at my current hospital and I knew right away that it was a unique place. There were veterinarians from Egypt, Jamaica and Poland. I love that diversity and the different perspectives.

Other places I interviewed didn’t have that community feeling and I didn’t feel like I could be my full self. But VCA usually allows a team to run their hospital how they want to run it – plus they provide support and resources that are important to me and important to them, like our Diversity Resource Groups. I’ve been asked to be on panels to talk about shadowing and Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives and value being part of our AAmbition community empowering Associates of Black and African American descent.

The future of veterinary medicine is very bright.
There will be more impactful things in the coming years to make vet med more inclusive and ensure more minorities have options in animal-related careers. That’s the biggest thing that excites me. Getting more individuals interested and keeping them around.