MSU veterinary
graduate joins military as public health officer
By
Keryn B. Page
MISSISSIPPI
STATE --
A Mississippi State University veterinary graduate pledged
to serve the U.S. Air Force as a public health officer
during a June ceremony at the Wise Center.
Dr. Misty Purvis, a May 2004 College of Veterinary Medicine
graduate, will be based at Eglin Air Force Base, one of the
largest military bases in the world, near Fort Walton Beach,
Fla. She will be responsible for the health of the troops
based there, dealing mainly with zoonotic and communicable
diseases.
“Misty is an example of what students in MSU’s veterinary
program can accomplish,” said Dr. Hart Bailey, a CVM
pathobiology/population medicine associate professor and
mentor to Purvis. “She is an example of what can be
done. Misty was determined to do it a different way and she
succeeded.”
Purvis is not new to the military: she joined the Navy after
graduating from high school in West Virginia. She served as
a top Navy welder for eight years before setting her sights
on veterinary school.
As a third-year veterinary student at MSU-CVM, Purvis
enlisted Bailey to help her gain experience in alternative
paths in veterinary medicine.
She
successfully completed externships during her fourth year of
school with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in Atlanta, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service, and
Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. Her mentor at Keesler was
Dr. Charles H. Blakeslee Jr., a 1981 graduate of
MSU-CVM.
“Misty came to me at the end of her sophomore year and asked me
to be her mentor, and I was more than happy to help her,”
Bailey explained. “I tried to facilitate, make
contacts for her and encourage her. It was gratifying to
work with Misty because she was energetic, enthusiastic and
determined enough to go out and make things happen.”
Even with determination and enthusiasm, a student still can’t
make it far without the help of professors with the power to
open doors.
“Dr. Bailey has done so much to help me and motivate me,”
Purvis said. “He has taken me on this new career path,
and I’m really excited about spreading the word and
encouraging undergraduates to follow in the food
safety/public health path.”
Purvis received numerous awards for her work as a veterinary
student, including the Peco Foods Award of Excellence and
the American Association of Public Health Veterinarians
award.
Bailey said he hopes to encourage veterinary students to “think
outside the box” when it comes to their professional
futures. Building relationships between the veterinary
college and outside organizations is key to placing MSU
veterinary students in roles where they have a chance to see
the options available to veterinarians.
“We’re looking for new opportunities all the time that we
can offer to our students,” Bailey said. “The
various courses our students take -- and the options they
have available to them during fourth-year externships --
make them uniquely qualified to move into areas that
traditionally have been filled by people in other fields.”
These areas include homeland defense, food safety and public
health. Some veterinary students work with poultry companies
or organizations that serve commodity groups, while others
work with the FSIS or the CDC. A 1987 CVM graduate, Dr.
Barbara Masters serves as acting administrator of the
FSIS.
Bailey said he and others at the CVM strive to make new
contacts in these areas whenever possible.
-30-
Released:
July 1, 2004
Contact: Dr. Hart Bailey, (662) 325-7726
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