Jess Gorham hails from a Chatham, New Jersey. When it came time for Jess to start looking at colleges she was looking to participate on the varsity swim team but also wanted to be involved with animals. Jess knew she wanted to go into a profession that involves animals in some way. UVM popped up on her radar and she looked into the curriculum and saw they offered Animal Science.Jess knew in her heart that she always wanted to do something related to animals and this was her chance. UVM was a “no brainer” to Jess. She was able to major in what she loved and participate in a sport that has been a huge part of her life.

 

Volunteering and dog walking are just some of the extracurriculars she did throughout her four years. Jess’s motivation came from her hands on experiences. She was able to have hands on experience with dogs, cows and other animals from the UVM farm. While attending UVM Jess worked for Play dog Play, a canine care center, in Burlington. She was able to apply what she learned in her classes at school to her work at Play dog Play. Jess loves how she is able to make a difference learning about these animals in her classes and through volunteering. After graduating from UVM in May 2018 Jess started out as a dog handler. From there Jess moved onto becoming a product developer for Green Mountain Animal located in South Burlington. Green Mountain Animal is a company that manufactures pet supplements for; dogs, cats and horses. These supplements help with their hips, joints, skin and coat.

 

Jess’s main job at Green Mountain Animal is to formulate the ingredients/raw materials that go into the products that they develop. Much of her work is in the Lab. Jess has the ability to conduct microbial testing, which verifies that the materials are not contaminated with bacteria. Since Jess is just starting out she is not where she ideally wants to be. Jess is looking at her this process as more of a journey. This is the first stepping stone on her way to where she eventually wants to be.

A big inspiration to her is that she just adopted a dog in May. Her dog that she adopted ending up having a lot of health issues that weren’t addressed in their previous home. Jess wanted to take this on because this is her passion to help animals that have health issues and wants to make them better through her work. She loved playing around with her dogs diet to see what the best thing for her would be. This was a huge inspiration to her to move into the nutrition side of Animal Science. In the end adopting this dog has shown Jess that being an advocate for healthier materials in dog food is what she truly loves and she is thankful her job allows her to have the platform to do that.