‘Veterinary medicine chose me as much as I chose it’
Enzzo Cepeda is no stranger to change. At the age of 14, he and his family moved from the largest city in South America — São Paulo, Brazil — to Winnipeg, Man., where the population and the climate were radically different from anything Cepeda had ever experienced before.
By Lynne Gunville
Although the move to Canada “was a shock at first” that dramatically changed Cepeda’s life, his strong connection with animals was unwavering. From a young age he had been drawn to animals — to caring for them, understanding their needs and finding ways to make them thrive.
“Veterinary medicine chose me as much as I chose it,” says Cepeda, who is now a first-year student at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). “As I grew older, my love for animals evolved into a deeper commitment to their health and safety, and I knew with certainty that this was the profession I was destined for.”
Cepeda is grateful that his parents quickly recognized his dedication and ensured that he had every opportunity to explore and pursue this path. After a year in the Bachelor of Science program at the University of Manitoba, Cepeda transferred to St. Mary’s University in Halifax, N.S., where he immersed himself in the coastal lifestyle and spent many hours surfing and sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.
When Cepeda began to miss Winnipeg and the sense of community he’d enjoyed there, he decided to return to the Prairies and continue his classes at the University of Winnipeg.
To gain experience with various animal species, Cepeda volunteered at Central Veterinary Services, a mixed animal clinic on the outskirts of Winnipeg, as well as St. Claude Veterinary Clinic, a mixed animal practice located about an hour outside of the city.
“When volunteering at both Central [Central Veterinary Services] and particularly St. Claude, I got to really experience and embrace large animal medicine, especially animal production medicine,” says Cepeda. “It became clear how key this field is for the development and health of society, something that sometimes gets overlooked.”
Cepeda also expanded his experience with small animals by volunteering and then working at Winnipeg’s Assiniboia Animal Hospital. He credits all the clinic staff, particularly Dr. Peter Schwartz and WCVM graduate Dr. Sheri Gould (DVM’96), for exposing him to a variety of interesting cases that ranged from shelter medicine to exploratory surgeries.
Since Cepeda began classes at the WCVM in mid-August, he’s been enjoying the practical aspects of courses such as clinical skills and animal welfare and behaviour. To ensure a good balance outside of his academic life, Cepeda spends quality time with his two border collies, Simba and Nala, who have accompanied him for most of his university career. In addition to following and cheering for the Winnipeg Jets hockey team, he enjoys a variety of non-competitive sports, and he plays piano and guitar.
As a first-year student, Cepeda is finding all aspects of veterinary medicine to be new and interesting, and when he considers his future career, he’s open to the idea of diving deeper into a specific area of veterinary medicine after graduation.
“I’ve been particularly intrigued by small animal emergency, surgery and even public health and epidemiology,” says Cepeda. “Each of these areas offer unique challenges and ways to impact animal and human health. The human-animal bond is a key aspect of veterinary medicine that I find both challenging and incredibly rewarding.”
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