A Fresh Coat: 4-H’er Achieves Her Vet School Dream With Mentor’s Guidance

OLIVIA MCCLURE

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

Growing up in Acadia Parish, Kathryn LeBlanc had a dream of one day being a veterinarian. Her family was involved in rescuing dogs, and the idea of making a career that would allow her to help animals in need intrigued her.

Even at a young age, LeBlanc knew it would take a lot of hard work to become a vet. There would be years of school marked by long hours of studying.

“For a while, I didn't believe that it was something that I could actually accomplish,” LeBlanc recalled. “I didn't believe in myself.”

But Kayla Segura, an LSU AgCenter 4-H agent in Acadia Parish, saw things differently. Knowing LeBlanc’s work ethic and passion for animals would take her far, Segura encouraged her 4-H’er to pursue her dream.

Segura remembered thinking: “She’s going to do it.”

And Segura was right. LeBlanc, now a student at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, has a little over a year left in her studies before she’ll officially become a veterinarian. 

She will soon begin clinical rotations — a milestone that was celebrated Feb. 9 at a ceremony where she and her classmates received white coats to symbolize their transition from the classroom to the clinic. 

Each student got to choose someone special — in most cases, a mentor — to present them their white coat. LeBlanc had no trouble deciding who to invite.

“Immediately, Ms. Kayla came to mind for me,” she said. “It wasn’t a hard decision to make. She’s been a mentor for me as long as I can remember, and I’ll always think of what Ms. Kayla did for me growing up.”

LeBlanc joined 4-H in fourth grade at her mother’s urging.

“I was scared and nervous,” she said. “I remember not wanting to do it at all.”

But as time went on, LeBlanc became more confident, especially after her mom and other parents formed the Lucky Clovers, a 4-H group for homeschooled children in Acadia Parish.

“That’s where I think I found myself,” she said.

Segura and fellow 4-H agent Megan Sarver introduced LeBlanc to public speaking and, noticing her interest in animals, helped her learn to show livestock. LeBlanc started with broiler chickens and later showed Katahdin sheep and horses.

LeBlanc’s family didn’t have extensive experience with livestock. 4-H connected them to a supportive community, and Segura even recruited a veterinarian to coach LeBlanc.

“It was kind of a learn-as-we-go type of thing, and we had a lot of people to ask questions,” LeBlanc said. “That's another thing that 4-H is great for, is you have so many people that you can ask for help and that are willing to help you — especially if you're new and you don't know what you're doing.”

LeBlanc also served as a Junior Leader in Acadia Parish 4-H, went on 4-H trips, spoke on behalf of the organization to the parish police jury and competed in 4-H University contests, which are held on the LSU campus each summer.

“She gave 4-H her all,” Segura said. “She was 100% in.”

LeBlanc graduated from high school in 2018 and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from LSU before entering vet school in 2022. She said many of her 4-H experiences helped prepare her for where she is now. 

She relied on her 4-H project books — which help students keep records about their work — for information and dates as she filled out the application for vet school. Thanks to her time as a Junior Leader, she’s comfortable with speaking to groups and organizing activities — skills she now uses as an officer of two clubs at the vet school. Basic animal science vocabulary and concepts she learned in 4-H came gave her a head start in her classes as an undergraduate and vet student. 

LeBlanc often thinks back on the encouragement her 4-H agents offered her through the years. A “core memory” came when LeBlanc and her younger sister, Hannah, were readying for a 4-H U demonstration talk on botflies in horses. Segura and Sarver wanted the girls to speak from the heart rather than depending on notecards.

“I remember feeling like, ‘Oh my gosh. I don’t know if I can do it,’” LeBlanc said. “And they were like, ‘Y'all got this. You can do it. Just work through it and practice.’”

They ended up winning first place — without their notecards.

“That was a really big deal for us,” she said.

Today, LeBlanc finds time in her busy schedule to return home to Acadia Parish to help 4-H’ers with their projects. While she is looking forward to finishing vet school and beginning to practice, she also hopes to continue to stay involved with 4-H.

“I'm very grateful for everything that other people did for me when I was younger, and I want to do the same for other people,” she said.

“The biggest gift as an agent is when my alumni come back,” Segura said. “When they come back and they have a hand in a program that helped them, that is the biggest ‘thank you’ that we see.”   ∆

OLIVIA MCCLURE: LSU AG CENTER