Loraine Miranda, a sophomore at High School South, is pursuing her longtime dream of a veterinary career at Adventures in Veterinary Medicine, a summer program at Tufts University.##M:[more]##
“Since she has been a little girl Loraine has always loved animals and wanted to be a vet. After being introduced to dogs in India by both her paternal grandmother and maternal grandparents, she spent every waking moment with them in the yard,” says her mother. “She began reading about dogs and by age 10 she knew every strange breed on the American Kennel Club chart.”
Although she has not had a dog due to extensive family travels, the family does have fish and she studies riding at Silver Dollar Stables in Cranbury. “My deal with Lorraine was that I would do everything else for her that is animal-related including driving her around and taking her to SAVE so she could spend as much time with animals as she could,” says her mother.
Most of the area agencies asked her to either wait until she is 16 or 17 to reapply but SAVE in Princeton has let her walk dogs and socialize with the cats in the shelter as long as she is accompanied by a parent. Last summer both mother and daughter fell in love with Farro, a dog at SAVE that has since found a forever home.
Miranda has volunteered on Saturdays at the Plainsboro Preserve since she was a freshman. She helps care for the animals, works with programs for kids, and works at the front desk.
At High School North she is a member of community service clubs include Larkability, American Red Cross, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Special Olympics, REBEL, and INTERACT. She is also involved at St.David the King Church with the Senior Youth Club and all its community service activities.
She is the daughter of Hector Miranda, who works with Lehman Brothers in Global Operations Technology; and Joanita Miranda, a social worker with the Hospice Program at Princeton Healthcare System. Her brother, Colin, 12, is a sixth grade student at Community Middle School. The family has lived in West Windsor for more than 11 years.
“Loraine has always found a way to satisfy her wishes one way or the other, so she watches pets while neighbors or friends are away, and plays with dogs while watching her brother play soccer,” says her mother.
The program, at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, is offered to middle and high school students. The selective application process involved two letters of recommendation, a school transcript, grades for the first two marking periods of her sophomore year, as well as an essay as to why she was interested in attending this program. Visit www.tufts.edu/vet/avm for more information.
