On this episode of Vet Tech Talk we welcome Rebecca Newman. Rebecca is the Wellbeing Coordinator at App State’s Veterinary Technology Program. She is a frequent volunteer in the veterinary community, with a focus on wellbeing and advocacy. She and her husband live on a farm in rural Colorado with their 17 well-loved animals.   Transcript Dave:Hello there. Welcome to Vet Tech Talk! I'm Dave Blanks, and I work here at App State in University Communications. On this episode, we're joined by Rebecca Newman. Rebecca is new to App State and has taken on the role of Well Being Coordinator for the Veterinary Technology Program. Her passion for wellbeing began when she was a college student working with adolescents with substance use disorders. While pursuing graduate work in clinical psychology,Newman worked as a therapist, primarily focused on anxiety and depressive disorders as well as eating disorders. Always an enthusiastic animal lover, Newman became a credentialed veterinary technician in2016 and combined her passions for wellbeing, education, and veterinary medicine in her role as Student Services Coordinator and then Student Affairs Director at Bel-Rea Institute. Newman served on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians from 2018-2022. Rebecca and her husband live in Colorado on a ranch with so many animals. We’ll get into that in just a bit. Here’s my conversation with Rebecca Newman.  Welcome to the podcast, Rebecca. Rebecca Newman: Thank you so much, Dave. Dave: Yeah, I'm glad you're here. So are you ready to get, can we get started? Is that cool with you? Rebecca Newman: I would love to. Dave: Let's jump in. So Rebecca Newman, your official title is the wellbeing coordinator for the Veterinary Technology program here at App State. Rebecca Newman: That is correct. Dave: All right. So have you been a wellbeing coordinator for a veterinary technology program before? Rebecca Newman: I have not. Dave: Oh, new experience. All right. Rebecca Newman: New experience. Dave: Excellent. So what does that entail, being a wellbeing coordinator? We'll get into a little bit about your background, but just brief overview, what's your gig here at Appalachian? Rebecca Newman: So it is a new role in veterinary technology programs, Dave: Okay. Rebecca Newman: And I believe App State has the very first wellbeing coordinator in the United States for a veterinary technology program. And this is huge because wellbeing is an area that has been kind of a side note in vet med, and we are bringing it to the forefront. App State is leading the way. Dave: Awesome. How, Rebecca, did you come into this position? Where'd you start? Was it in the world of veterinary medicine somehow, Rebecca Newman: Sure. Dave: Or? Rebecca Newman: Well, actually, my first career was in clinical psychology. I worked with college students at Rutgers University. Dave: Okay. Rebecca Newman: And I wanted to become a psychologist. My path changed over time and I actually went back to school to become a veterinary technician. So I am a, Dave: Really? Rebecca Newman: A certified veterinary technician. Dave: How uniquely qualified are you for this? Rebecca Newman: I have to say, Dave, these are three of my greatest passions. One, veterinary medicine, two, wellbeing, and three, education and working with students. Dave: Awesome. Wow. Okay. Well that's super interesting to hear. So let's see, how did you find out about this particular position? Rebecca Newman: Well, so I live in Colorado. Dave: Oh, okay. All right. Cool. Rebecca Newman: Yeah, I was student affairs director at a program there, and I left the program to spend a year working on my farm. Dave: Cool. Rebecca Newman: And, Dave: What kind of farm? Rebecca Newman: Oh, we basically take in as many old animals as possible. They don't make us any money, and that just provides extreme happiness to my husband and myself. Dave: That's great. Is it like agritourism in a way?