This fourth-year student graduates in May and will step up to serve the veterinary needs of rural and regional Texas to help the agriculture and livestock industry.
Fourth year student Dylan Bostick has set his sights for graduation on May 18. He came to Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine as part of the inaugural class where he began his veterinary educational journey with 61 other students in August 2021.
Bostick was born in Lubbock, Texas but shortly after his family moved to Brownwood, Texas where he spent most of his life. It was here he began to learn the rural lifestyle that would eventually fuel his long-time passion.
“In West Texas my family were cotton farmers but when we moved to Central Texas, they bought a ranch and started raising livestock,” Bostick said. “Through the years we have owned sheep, goats and cattle but ultimately cattle ranching has been our main route of production.”
His family owns a small feedlot with around 60 head of commercial Black Angus cows with Hereford bulls and 40 head of registered Red Brangus cattle. This is a ranch to market operation allowing them to sell beef directly from the ranch to consumers.
“This avenue has allowed me to gain more experience in the financial side of raising cattle and also allows me to educate the general public on how the beef and food industry works in general,” Bostick said.
Bostick also showed registered Red Brangus cattle in high school and then competed in collegiate livestock judging at South Plains College.
“All of these opportunities, working with cattle and being a part of the agriculture community made me realize that I wanted to be a veterinarian for an industry that was losing vets because no one wanted to work in the small, rural communities and take a pay cut from the massive, small animal hospitals in large, metropolitan cities,” Bostick said.
Now he is about to walk across the stage to receive his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine to help serve the veterinary needs of rural and regional communities in Texas. Let’s get to know Bostick through a series of questions.
What are you passionate about in veterinary medicine? 
My passion within veterinary medicine is food animal medicine and more specifically, cattle medicine. Working on cattle, whether that’s in a feedlot, at a backgrounding operation or on a cow calf operation isn’t the most glorious, high paying job around. It is however, a very fulfilling job that gives you the opportunity to be a part of an industry in which you’ll make connections and friendships that last for a lifetime.
My favorite thing to do is get in the truck and drive around to ranches all day doing herd health work and helping cattle ranchers become more efficient and strategic at what they do. It also allows you the opportunity to work in small rural communities where you can be involved in the community which is a big passion of mine.
What are some life experiences that led you to that passion?
I have two different experiences come to mind that made me have a passion for the cattle industry. First is my experience raising and showing cattle. Getting to experience the hard work and dedication it takes to breed a cow, wait for a calf and then raise and show that animal, made me realize the joy you can get from raising livestock. All the animal health aspects of it interested me even more which furthered my passion for becoming a veterinarian.
The second experience would have been the time I spent livestock judging at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. Livestock judging taught me tons of skills that allow me to be the person I am today. However, it’s the people you meet within the livestock industry and more specifically the cattle industry that makes it so much fun. You meet someone at a sale or show in another state and the next time you see them you’ll catch up like old friends. Everyone in the industry takes care of each other and no one is a stranger which makes me passionate about helping people and their livestock.
What inspired you to be a veterinarian?
The inspiration for me to become a veterinarian is the simple passion for the agriculture and livestock industry. I grew up in a small town with a lot of cattle, sheep and goat ranchers around and I really enjoy that way of life.
As we all know, large animal veterinarians in rural, small towns are hard to come
by. Therefore, I pursued veterinary school to become a confident and competent veterinarian
to go back to serve those communities and those ranchers.
How do you plan serve the veterinary needs of rural and regional communities after graduation?
Post graduation I will become an associate veterinarian at Beard Navasota Veterinary Hospital in Navasota, Texas. I will be practicing mixed animal medicine with half of my patients being dogs and cats and the other half of my patients being cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
The rural and regional communities on the north side of Houston are lacking in veterinarians who will work on our food animal species. At Beard Navasota, we travel regularly on farm calls over one to one and a half hours to provide veterinary care to livestock species because they do not have a veterinarian nearby that works on those types of animals. I want to help continue that support of livestock species in those communities.
Why did you choose Texas Tech? 
I chose Texas Tech’s School of Veterinary Medicine because I wanted to be a part of a new program that was similar to my passion and inspirations. The school’s mission is to produce competent and capable veterinarians that are going to serve rural and regional communities.
The school’s core values are community, integrity, kindheartedness, grit and inspiration which all resonated with me. I was also very interested in their fourth-year distributed model where students rotate through practices throughout Texas and New Mexico to gain everyday knowledge and better our communication and clinical skills.
How are you involved with the school? 
Being a part of the first class has been nothing but unique. I have had the opportunity to get involved and help set up tons of different student clubs and other programs within our school. I am currently the class treasurer for the Class of 2025, I was also the secretary for the Christian Veterinary Fellowship club, I was a member of the bovine palpation team in 2023 and 2024, and I am the Class of 2025 Representative that sits on the admissions committee as a voting member. Serving in all of these different roles has been very rewarding and I have made a lot of connections and friends through these groups.
The admissions committee has been an experience that has been the most unique. I have had the opportunity in helping select several of the next classes at the School of Veterinary Medicine. The other class representatives and I helped build the student interview station where two School of Veterinary students sit in and interview a perspective student on their own. It has turned out to be a big hit with both interviewers and helping the admissions committee make decisions.
How has your clinical year experience been?
The fourth-year clinical experience has been something that I will never forget. I’ve been all over the state, from Big Country Veterinary Clinic in Abilene, Texas to Beard Navasota Veterinary Hospital in Navasota, Texas to Deason Animal Hospital in Floresville, Texas, to Animal Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas and Swann Animal Clinic in Amarillo, Texas.
These clinics, and several others, gave me ample opportunities to learn things such as diagnostic interpretation, surgery skills, client communication, business and leadership experiences, as well as the daily tricks that you can use in practice only taught by general practitioners that have been practicing 20 and 30 years.
The other takeaway I have from my fourth-year clinical experience is the professional relationships and friendships that I made with practitioners across the state of Texas. The veterinary profession is small and now it’s even smaller considering I have so many connections across the state.
How have you felt the clinical year has prepared you to be a better veterinarian?
I think given the opportunity to work alongside so many veterinarians in so many different communities have given me so much experience and diversity in cases that I can use going forward when I start practicing. It has been engrained in me the importance of a good physical exam and how much it can help you in a diagnosis.
I have been able to see how practitioners handle tough cases that I will see soon in my future and talk with them about how to navigate those cases. The biggest part the fourth year has helped me with is confidence. I know when I start practicing in June, I will be ready to serve clients and their animals.
Can you talk about your excitement for graduation?
Graduation is only a few short weeks away and I’m really excited for the event. It’s going to be one of the most exciting events since the school opened. Texas Tech University has been working to graduate veterinarians for so many years, and I am grateful to be a part of the inaugural class that gets to walk across the stage. I am excited to help Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine fulfill their purpose of providing veterinarians that want to serve rural and regional communities.