In a few years, Bermuda could have its very own locally based veterinary ophthalmologist.

It’s a goal Talia Thompson is working towards. Last week, she celebrated a milestone in her journey as a student at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St Kitts, by receiving her white coat.

“The white coat signifies the start of a new journey; the start of vet school and starting the process of becoming a vet,” said the 21-year-old, who is on track to graduate from the university’s accelerated doctor of veterinary medicine programme in 2028.

Ironically, it’s a path she hadn’t planned to pursue. At Warwick Academy, her focus was on athletics, but she chose to take GCSEs in chemistry, physics and biology.

“I took all three sciences, which was a struggle, but it really pushed me to learn more. I found that I enjoyed learning about science and understanding how everything worked [but] I was interested in collegiate swimming,” she said.

“After I finished my GCSEs, I decided that going to the US would open that door for me but once I got there, I decided that my academics took precedence over athletics. While I loved swimming, while I loved the sport, it was not as important to me as my academics.”

At university, Talia decided to pursue her interest in science. Initially she was drawn to kinesiology — the study of understanding and improving human movement while helping to prevent injury and disease — but by the end of her first semester realised that it wasn’t the right fit.

“I was in Biology One, trying to figure out what my interests were, and I had the opportunity to speak to a veterinarian who I was taking one of my animals to at the time. I was really inspired and decided I was going to become a vet.”

As a teenager, she had contemplated a career in veterinary medicine, inspired by the pets she had growing up and a serendipitous meeting with a visiting specialist.

"When I was about 13, I had the chance to speak with an ophthalmologist who came to Bermuda. He explained the procedure he was performing and showed me a cataract," she recalled.

It sparked her interest, but because she “was really into sports, [she] put it on the back burner”.

“Animals played a huge part in my life. I grew up with dogs, cats, bunnies … I loved animals. I just never really considered working with them until I spoke to him, and even then it was still something that kind of felt like a pipe dream. Even though I knew there were veterinarians, I knew that it was a job, I just didn't think it was something that I could do.”

Her GCSEs showed her what was possible. Time spent working with various veterinary clinics and at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo also helped.

“Stem is intimidating. But I feel like going to school in Bermuda prepared me very well for university, and how hard and fast-paced everything is. Taking the GCSEs when I was 14, 15, I felt like it was gonna be the hardest thing I ever faced in my life. Now I'm in vet school I realise how well that prepared me for everything I'm doing.”

While courses are typically spread over four years, Talia’s are condensed, allowing her to graduate in just three and a quarter years.

“You don't get the summers off. You get two-week breaks in between every semester, and you just keep going through,” she explained.

“I have exams every week. It's a very fast-paced programme and you're constantly learning new material.”

She feels it will one day all be worth it as the number of pets in Bermuda seem to have “doubled or tripled” in recent years and she is unaware of a local specialist to meet the growing demand.

“We had an ophthalmologist who would come down and work with a few of the clinics on the island. Whenever they would have dogs with cataracts, he would come down and perform all the surgeries that were needed at one time,” she said.

“My plan was always to come home, no matter what I did. The veterinary field is small in Bermuda, and there are very few Bermudians in that field — that I know of, at least. I feel like this gives me an opportunity to give back to the community. It gives me the opportunity to go home and show other Bermudians that it is a possibility to do something more, to be more.”

In 2027, Talia will leave St Kitts to complete a year of clinical placements and rotations at another AVMA-accredited school, finishing off her education. If she’s in the US, she will need to take the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam in order to practise. Afterwards, she will apply for either a residency or an internship; at present she is unsure whether it’s more beneficial for her to specialise or work as a general practitioner.

“I love marine science. I love working with marine animals. Over the summer I interned at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Florida, and had the opportunity to see some really amazing things and talk to the vets that worked there. That really piqued my interest in the marine side of things,” Talia said.

“But I've also had the opportunity to speak to vets in shelter medicine in Texas, and talk to other vets in Bermuda who really expressed the need for certain areas. So I'm really still making that decision, and I don't think I'll decide until my last year.”