Working with animals has turned into a passion for Richmond Promise Scholar Avyanah Washington

STILL DRESSED IN THE SCRUBS SHE WORE for her afternoon class, Avyanah Washington has already turned her attention to the next item on her to-do list.

It might be summer, but Washington hasn’t slowed down much as she prepares to enter her fifth year of undergraduate studies. Her first focus is on continuing to work towards a degree in Biology at Sacramento State University, but after wrapping up in the classroom, she’s headed to her evening internship at the Wildlife Care Association in Sacramento.

Working with animals has become a passion, but it wasn’t always the plan.

Washington graduated from Salesian High School in 2020, which meant that through no fault of her own, the world looked quite a bit different than it did for other recent graduates. She enrolled at UC Riverside with a plan to study Media and Cultural Studies, and a future in journalism seemed like the path forward.

She was a UC Riverside student, but actually never made it to Riverside.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that Washington’s first two years of college were spent at home. Instead of a college experience, she got a computer screen and Zoom classes.

But, even as she attended classes remotely, her interests continued to evolve. By 2022, she decided to make a change.

“I tell my friends, and even my younger cousins, that I feel like once you get to college, you kind of start to learn what you like to do,” Washington said. “You encounter so many different cultures, so many different people, so many different specialties, it’s so much. You’re bound to change your mind.”

Without ever taking a class on campus in Riverside, she decided to transfer. With an eye towards finding a new school in the University of California or Cal State University system, she spent a year at Contra Costa College working on fulfilling requirements for either path.

Although she was still attending classes online, she continued to receive information and resources from Richmond Promise. Through those updates, she learned about the office of Extended Opportunity Programs & Services (EOPS), an on-campus support program that “assists low-income and educationally disadvantaged students in pursuing and achieving their educational and career goals.”

“I got to meet with multiple counselors, and I actually got close with one counselor (Natasha Lockett), and I love her so much because she guided me so well and helped me out so much,” Washington said. “Also the faculty there was really spectacular — very, very helpful. I will say, a big difference from a state college or a UC, they’re definitely way more helpful. Gave this community vibe, you know, also checking in through email all the time, and I really, really appreciated that.”

As she made the transition to Contra Costa, she also recalled (with a little help from her family) that as a kid she always loved interacting with animals. And, while in high school, she’d actually proven proficient at biology.

With that information in mind, Washington set out to find a school with a biology program that might help her take the next step in pursuing a new passion.

Enter Sacramento State.

“Their STEM faculty, everything was new — new funding, new buildings, new labs, new opportunities, new research opportunities. When I transferred, they had actually just started a stem cell program,” she said. “So that was everything to me, and definitely the research was a huge aspect for Sac State. Also, the biodiversity up here with the American River, the Sacramento River, all the trails and the just nature around us up here. It piqued my interest for research opportunities.”

The full college experience wasn’t quite reality, because for the first couple of months, she commuted from the Bay Area to Sacramento for classes. Eventually, she found an apartment and made the move to the state capital.

College life had finally arrived, and it was arriving all at once.

“I kind of felt overwhelmed, and I still do a little bit, because so much is being thrown at me, so many organizations, so many opportunities,” Washington said. “It’s just like I don’t know what to do. And I’m the type of person, unfortunately, I like to have my hand in every pot that comes my way, and I don’t know how to balance it.

“I will say that me and my friends talk about finding a balance, especially being in your early 20s and a college student. You’re working part time, you’re first-generation, finding a balance is super hard. But, you get better each year. Each year, you learn from your mistakes, and you get better.”

Life at Sacramento State calmed down, and Washington found her rhythm in new surroundings. Richmond Promise has played a role in easing the transition, and through check-ins and resource sharing, the shift away from home college has come just a bit easier.

“Just the support and the checking in I love, because I’ve had multiple moments in my college career so far where I felt like I didn’t know who to ask for help,” Washington said. “When Richmond Promise checks in or sends those emails or even texts I receive, it helps me so much. Like, oh, duh, ask them. And even the newsletters, I will read through them when I have the time. And I remember when I didn’t have a job at the time, the Career Center, (included in) the newsletter, helped so much.”

Through her studies, work and internships, she’s getting plenty of hands-on experience. She works at Banfield Pet Hospital as a veterinary assistant — a role that has led to lots of work with dogs and cats.

As part of her internship at the Wildlife Care Association, she’s gotten to interact with exotic animals, and most recently she has worked most closely with wildlife animals such as owls, hawks, foxes, raccoons and squirrels. Along the way, she’s learned to administer medications and how to suture.

Those are the practical applications, and her classwork continues to build a foundation as she enters her final year of undergraduate work.

At the same time, she’s also asking the questions that might lead to a career of helping others — human or animal.

“I thought about maybe even bridging veterinary medicine with public health such as, you know, working for organizations such as the CDC and WHO and coming up with vaccines and researching diseases in human animal cross diseases, and how we can help with that,” Washington said. “Especially with what’s going on now, a lot of outbreaks, and underfunding has been going on, and a lot of people are misinformed because we don’t have that funding and we don’t have certain people in those organizations. I definitely feel like that (is a) way I can bridge the gap and give back and help animals in my community.”

First on the agenda is finishing her undergraduate degree, but veterinary school (preferably UC Davis) has emerged as a post-graduate goal. If that doesn’t happen, then she’d like to possibly pursue a Master’s degree in biotechnology or continue to pursue studies related to stem cell research.

And who knows — even those plans might change. But with her focus on making an impact, Washington’s goal of turning those passions into an impactful career remains right on track.