On this episode of Vet Tech Talk we welcome Leigha Wright. Leigha is the Clinical Coordinator at App State’s Veterinary Technology Program. She is an award-winning veterinary technician and teacher, as well as being an avid supporter of her students dedicated to creating a productive environment for their learning. She and her two Airedale terriers live on a Texas.     Transcript Dave Blanks: 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 Leigha Wright. Leigha started her veterinary technology career in the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Her career has taken her across multiple states while working in diagnostic laboratories, veterinary schools, and veterinary technology schools. She is a credentialed technician in Texas and was awarded the Licensed Veterinary Technician of the Year Award from the Texas Veterinary Medical Association in 2021. Leigha worked as the Clinical Coordinator for a veterinary technology program in Texas for 3 years prior to joining Appalachian State. Wright earned a Teaching Excellence Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development in 2020. She works with the Texas Airedale Rescue Team and has two Airedale Terrier mixes of her own, along with two cats that she rescued while in veterinary technology school. Here’s my conversation with Leigha Wright.   Dave Blanks: Leigha? Leigha Wright: Yes. Dave Blanks: Do you want to do a podcast with me? Leigha Wright: Yes, please. Dave Blanks: Let's do this thing. Leigha Wright, you are the clinical coordinator for the Veterinary Technology Program. And where do you live? Leigha Wright: I live in Texas right now. Dave Blanks: All right. Leigha Wright: But I'm from Eastern Kentucky. Dave Blanks: Okay. Leigha Wright: We can't be mistaken for a Texan. Dave Blanks: Well, it's a different accent, right? Leigha Wright: It is. It is. Dave Blanks: But Texans have an accent as well. Leigha Wright: They do. Dave Blanks: Yeah. Leigha Wright: They get a little confused with mine because they're like, you ain't from around here. Dave Blanks: Oh, really? Leigha Wright: But you kind of sound like you might be. So what's going on? Dave Blanks: All right. So you're the clinical coordinator, so that means you're in charge of what? What is your gig here at Appalachian? Leigha Wright: My job as clinical coordinator is I will match all of our vet tech students with the clinical site where there is a credential technician or a DVM. So a veterinarian, that will help them to obtain those hands-on psychomotor skills. Dave Blanks: Psychomotor. Leigha Wright: Yeah. Fancy, right? Dave Blanks: That sounds cool. Leigha Wright: So they get those skills. They learn how to do them at a clinical facility during their clinical externship, and that way these students, yes, it is an online program. So they get those, they get the didactic knowledge. They get it in class. It's online. We're still a community. We're still a team. But then I also help to provide them with teams in the field. So they get to make those connections, make those interactions. And my happy place is matching students to these clinical sites. Dave Blanks: Nice. Leigha Wright: So we match their personalities and everything. Dave Blanks: I gotcha. Wow. Okay. Cool. Well, that sounds very comprehensive. Can you tell me how you came into veterinary technology, veterinary medicine? What was your journey that led you to that? Leigha Wright: Yes. Dave Blanks: Did you always love animals? Leigha Wright: Oh, yes. Dave Blanks: Yes. Leigha Wright: I missed my last day of eighth grade to help my dog give birth. Dave Blanks: Aw. Leigha Wright: So it's always been in my mind. I grew up not knowing what a veterinary technician was. I grew up in eastern Kentucky. I'm from Pike County, Kentucky, deep in the mountains, and I did not know what a vet tech was. I know what a veterinarian- Dave Blanks