Kianalia Towle: Balancing Vet Tech, Work, and Family
Posted by Emily D
¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ Veterinary Technology student and scholarship recipient Kianalia Towle shares how scholarships and community at ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ helped make her educational journey possible:
They say the smell of a barn isn’t for everyone, but for me, it has always smelled like home.
Animals have been a constant in my life. They ground me and comfort me, and caring for them gives me purpose. That’s why becoming a veterinary technician means so much to me. I love this work.
But getting here hasn’t been easy. The past few years have tested my husband and me in ways we never expected. There were moments when it felt like every part of life was demanding more than I had to give. And underneath it all was this constant fear that one unexpected setback could derail everything.
Kai shared her story with attendees of the ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ Foundation’s ‘Together for Tomorrow’ event, 2026.
What made the difference was community. My time at ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ has taught me that resilience isn’t built alone. It grows when people show up for each other. When life felt difficult, there were so many people at ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½ who helped me keep going. My classmates became a lifeline. They knew what it meant to struggle and keep moving forward. My instructors saw me as a whole person – not just a student sitting in a classroom. When I was overwhelmed, they didn’t make me feel ashamed. They reminded me that asking for help is not weakness, it’s part of being human and getting through. And when I needed support, they connected me with resources that kept food on our table, and helped my family stay afloat.
The scholarships I received gave me something I hadn’t felt in a long time: Relief. They meant I could stay in school. I could focus on learning, instead of constantly calculating what bill could wait another week.
But more than that, those scholarships told me something I desperately needed to hear: That my future was still possible. That someone believed in me. And that kind of belief can change a person.
When I graduate from ¶¶Òõ¸£Àûµ¼º½, I’ll finish my clinical rotations, prepare for my national exam, and continue building a career caring for animals and supporting the people who love them.
And while that means the world to me, the impact goes beyond just my own future. My sons are watching. They’ve seen me keep going when things were hard. They’ve seen people step in and help us through. And because of that, they’re learning something I hope they carry with them for the rest of their lives: That people matter. That community matters. And that dreams are possible.
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