“Never back down, try to move forward”

Arevik Abovyan is a Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry of the National Agrarian University of Armenia since 2019.

“They say veterinarians are fans, I agree, because we love work very much,” says Arevik Abovyan.

She says that her father, who was also one of the devotees in the field of veterinary medicine, had a contribution in choosing a profession. “My father was writing his dissertation during the years of my university admission. He often took us to farms with him, introduced us to the work of a veterinarian, at home he often discussed professional topics with his friends, and, regardless of his will, we were in the center of it. “My father never forced me, but those conversations left their mark,” says Ms. Abovyan.

At the same time, she remembers that during her studies there was a difficult period for the state, it was the beginning of the 90s, there was a gap for practical work at the university. “It has been three years since I was entrusted to lead the faculty, today I am trying to realize what I could have dreamed of as a student before. “I look at it through the eyes of a student, trying to do our best to create an environment where the student will gain practical work experience and skills with his/her knowledge, which will help them to master the profession to the maximum and enter the labor market being already a ready specialist.

According to her, a possible precondition for success in the profession is never leaving a practical job. “Yes, I have taught, but I have also done practical work, because I like my narrow specialization very much.”

She mentions that although there are few women specialists in the field of veterinary medicine, the interest of girls in that field is gradually increasing.

“There is interest, but they go to the field of pets, they even open their own clinics. But, for example, we had Iranian-Armenian students, girls who successfully work in big farms, they did not even go back after studying, settling in Armenia,”says Mrs. Abovyan.

My father always said a very famous saying in our field: “Doctors save people, veterinarians save humanity.” Today I understand more deeply the meaning of all that and I am sorry that he does not exist and does not see the steps that are being taken in the field.

– There are few women in our field, but no matter how much they say that veterinary medicine is not a woman’s profession, if there is a desire, then success is inevitable. My success is in the field of graduates. I always encourage students to take the opportunity, never to back down, to try to and move forward…

Full text in Armenian