For Arielle Breite ‘14 there was never any question about what she wanted to do with her life or the path she wanted to take to get there. Breite grew up dreaming of becoming a veterinarian and attending the same college as her father, Dr. Marshall Breite ‘79.

“I grew up dreaming of coming to Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and my dad always wanted me to come here too. So I’ve wanted to come to Cornell for my whole life,” said Breite.

Breite fondly recalls a very special moment that set her on this path when she was a teenager.

“We were here for Reunion and we were walking down that hallway that has all of the composites, and he put his arm around me and said, ‘Arielle, I want you to be up on this wall someday,’” said Breite. “Now I will be.”

With the idea of coming to Cornell in her head from an early age, Breite grew up hearing her father’s stories about his time at Cornell and knew she wanted the same experience.

“I grew up thinking that people like Howie Evans, Drs. Francis Fox, John King, William Hornbuckle, and most of all the famous Dr. D (Sandy DeLahunta) were celebrities,” said Breite.

She was also treated to stories of pranks on Fox’s birthday, stories of experiences in labs, and many other of her father’s memories from Cornell.

“His stories made me want to come here,” said Breite. “He always has spoken of his time here with such fondness and nostalgia that it was contagious.”

When it came time to apply to vet schools, Breite kept her options open, but she knew that Cornell was the place for her.

“Being a vet was always the big dream, so I would have gone anywhere,” said Breite. “But having the opportunity to get my degree from here made it that much more special.”

Being accepted to Cornell meant that Breite was on her way to fulfilling both her dream, along with her father’s. She would get the same quality education that he had received while becoming part of Cornell’s community.

“I think that there’s a really nice tight knit community here,” said Breite. “I really like having friends everywhere I go and saying hi to faculty and staff and students. I feel like it’s a really close community.”

During her time at Cornell Breite has taken advantage of many opportunities to make the most out of her four years in the Cornell community. She has been involved in extracurricular activities and has especially enjoyed getting the chance to be involved in clubs that are not specifically related to veterinary medicine, including the a capella and theater groups.

“I think a lot of other vet schools don’t have clubs that are non-vet related,” said Breite. “It’s been really nice to have an outlet for some non-vet creativity.”

Now as Breite approaches graduation and realizes that her picture will soon be hanging in the same hallway as her father’s, she is looking forward to what comes next. Here too she plans to follow in her father’s footsteps, working at a mixed or general small animal practice.

“I will miss being able to just walk down the hall to ask specialists their opinions,” said Breite. “I will miss having my friends around me at all times to hold me up when things are hard, and celebrate when things are happy. The community is what makes it, and that’s definitely what I’ll miss the most.

Breite graduated in May 2014.