Pre-Veterinarian Students Offer Gifts

Coordinating a drive to provide backpacks and school supplies to Native American children thousands of miles away may be an odd way to ready college students for careers as veterinarians.

But to Lee Shapiro, an instructor of veterinary science at Pierce College, it makes perfect sense.

“I believe to be a decent veterinarian, you have to be a decent human being,” Shapiro said. To be able to tell a pet owner why a beloved animal has to be put to sleep, students must learn to be very compassionate.

As a way of fostering that compassion, the Pre-Veterinarian Science Club at Pierce will provide presents for nearly 250 students in Crazy Horse School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Wanblee, S.D.

To encourage the Lakota children to stay in school, the club promises to give a gift to each student who remains through Christmas; often it is the only present the students receive all year.

“We try to make their life just a little bit easier, let them know that somebody cares about them, and let them know that there is hope,” said Shapiro, who is an advisor to the pre-veterinarian club.

This year the gifts will be the tools of education--backpacks filled with school supplies and warm clothing for kindergarten through eighth-graders.

“If you could see the smile on their faces,” Shapiro said, referring to the Crazy Horse School children. “It’s worth it all.”

Donations of backpacks, warm clothing or supplies may be brought from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. today through Thursday and from 6 to 9:20 tonight and Wednesday night to the campus’ agriculture department building, located on El Rancho Road, between Mason and De Soto avenues.

For more information, call (818) 347-0551, Ext. 254.