NORFOLK, Neb. - A graduate of Northeast Community College has been installed as the 2020 president of the Nebraska Veterinary Medicine Association. Dr. Jeremy Young of Elgin took office earlier this year. He is a partner in Town and Country Veterinary Clinic of Albion, St. Edward and Elgin.
Young graduated from Pierce High School in 1998, Northeast Community College in 2000, the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) in 2002 and Kansas State in 2006.
“The transfer from Northeast to UNL was pretty seamless,” Young said.
At Northeast, Young was enrolled in the pre-veterinary science college transfer program. He took many animal science, chemistry and biology classes with students in the veterinary technology program; and the vet tech program director, Dr. Michael Cooper, was his advisor.
Young said one of the reasons he picked Northeast for his first two years was location.
“We still had a livestock operation at home and attending Northeast allowed me to stay around and help with that,” he said. “It was also a much less expensive option that going directly to the University. At that time, Northeast was about a third of the cost of the University per credit hour.”
Young thought he fit in well after he transferred to the University of Nebraska and that he was well-prepared academically during his time at Northeast.
“You do kind of miss out on that freshman year bonding with those students who went right to the University, but overall, I feel like I was able to mesh well in that.”
Young was in junior high school at Pierce when he decided he wanted to be a veterinarian.
“I always liked animals and got a sense of accomplishment from figuring out what was wrong with an animal and treating them and then getting them better. And I always wanted to do something connected with agriculture.”
For young people considering veterinary medicine as a career, “I would recommend considering starting at a community college, and would recommend Northeast,” Young said. “I know the transfer process has been streamlined even more since I attended. Dual credit was just getting started when I was in high school, but a high school student could certainly get ahead of the game by taking advantage of that opportunity.”
As a pre-veterinary medicine student at Northeast, Young did have some classes on the College farm, now named the Acklie Family College Farm.
“Those facilities have served their purpose well over the years,” he said, “but the opportunity to upgrade them is exciting.”
Northeast Community College is in the process of constructing new agricultural facilities on the campus. The initial phase of construction includes a new veterinary technology clinic and classrooms, a new farm site with a large animal handling facility and other farm structures for livestock operations, a farm office and storage. The new facilities will be located near the Chuck M. Pohlman Agriculture Complex on E. Benjamin Ave. in Norfolk. Site work began in April and construction should be completed by Fall 2021.
The funding for the agriculture facilities will come from the College’s commitment of $10 million, as well as external fundraising to fill the gap. With a total project cost of $22.3 million, the College has raised enough funds to begin construction; however, fundraising for the Nexus campaign will continue, as more is needed for equipment, technology and furnishings.
In August 2019, the Acklie Charitable Foundation (ACF) announced a $5 million lead gift to the Nexus project. ACF was founded by the late Duane Acklie and Phyllis Acklie, both Madison County natives and graduates of Norfolk Junior College, a predecessor institution of Northeast Community College.
For more information on the Nexus Campaign, contact Northeast Associate Vice President for Development and External Affairs Dr. Tracy Kruse, at tracyk@northeast.edu, or call (402) 844-7056. Online donations may be made through agwaternexus.com. Checks may also be mailed to Nexus Campaign, Northeast Community College Foundation, P.O. Box 469, Norfolk, NE, 68702.
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