The American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association is a national association whose goal is to broaden the reach of veterinary medicine and all it has to offer. Every year a different veterinary school hosts its 2014 national symposium.

Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine will open its doors to 500-600 pre-veterinary students and faculty as the host for the event, which will take place March 21-23, 2014.

The APVMA National Symposium is an annual three-day, two-night event in which pre-veterinary students gather to attend lectures and labs taught by veterinarians in many distinguished fields.

“It is a great opportunity for pre-vet students to network and learn about what each vet school has to offer,” said Katie Gibson, senior in dairy science, and president of the Pre-Vet Club at Iowa State.

During the symposium, students get the chance to speak with representatives and faculty from veterinary schools all across the country.

The symposium lasts from Friday evening until Sunday morning with presentations, lectures, hands-on labs, pre-vet Olympics and a formal dinner and dance.

A lot of planning has gone into having Iowa State host the National Symposium.

Miranda Buseman, senior in animal science and microbiology, is one of the co-chairs for the APVMA symposium in the pre-veterinary club, and has been actively involved in the planning in order for Iowa State to host the symposium.

“A lot of the planning has just been communication between the club members and [executive] members, between our club advisers and the vet school, and we have also been working closely with the Ames Convention Bureau,” Buseman said.

Other planning for this event involved coordination with the vet school for available rooms, talking with the dean of the veterinary school, Lisa Nolan, getting the approval of everyone involved, and there was a video made as well.

“I really wanted to showcase Iowa State and all we have to offer, and I think what really brought it home was that we had prepared this video that was welcoming the symposium to Ames, and showing them what we had to offer with footage of the vet school,” Buseman said.

Now that the dates are set for Iowa State to host, the planning continues, with the majority of it now focused on fundraising for the event.

“We will need to ask local businesses, other veterinary schools, state and national organizations and other donors for donations to pay for the different aspects of the symposium,” Gibson said.

Most attendees of the symposium are members of university pre-veterinary clubs, but anyone interested can attend as long as they are enrolled in a university and register on time.

There is a $125 fee upon registration.

“The fee generally includes any costs with food, registration, lecturers, lab supplies, entertainment and transportation that is involved with the symposium,” Gibson said.

Fundraising is important to cover the different costs of the symposium, but also important in other aspects as well.

One of the main goals of the pre-veterinary club members at Iowa State is to raise enough money so that the cost of registration does not increase.

“We are also trying to do something different like getting a live band for dinner Saturday night or a hypnotist, to set us apart from what other vet schools have done,” Buseman said.

The last time Iowa State hosted the national symposium was 2005, and with the newly renovated facilities at the veterinary college, the 2014 symposium will allow visitors to tour the updated facilities.

Registration for the event is likely begin around October 2013.