10 Year-Old Courtney Oliver Follows Her Dreams
Courtney Oliver is very gifted child. She has a passion for animals and instead of dreaming of what she could be and do when she was older; she decided to take some action. At only ten years old she completed and earned her veterinary assistant certification in only eight months. Now she works at her local clinic taking care of the animals that she loves and doing the job that would usually belong to an adult.
Courtney knew what she wanted to do early in life. “I have a dog Maggie and two hamsters and I just thought: ‘Well, if I have so many animals why don’t I just work with them?’” When asked about her young age and why she would choose now to start she replied, “Might as well get it done early as get it done late.”
She has shown her smarts and her bravery at something that most of us would quake at – the blood. “The first day it kind of made me nervous,” Courtney said. “But I’m like, ‘when can I do that?’ It doesn’t really scare me because we have blood. Why be scared of it?”
Dr. Michelle Shoemaker at the South Bay Veterinary Hospital in Olympia has been Courtney’s mentor. “She’s amazing. She’s a wonderful girl,” Shoemaker said. “Always been so bright, very, very smart actually. We quiz her quite often here. The questions and the studies she’s been doing and she always knows the answers and she’s always right in there wanting to help out. Amazing girl.”
Despite her amazing abilities there are some restrictions put on Courtney because of her age. She is not allowed to be in surgery by herself and her mother is required to be with her at all times while she volunteers according to state law.
But that doesn’t sop her from volunteering at the hospital once a week. She even tried to join the 4-H vet program – but was told that she was just too young. That will be another goal for young Courtney to work towards.