Savanna Gephard, DVM

Many people think having a black cat cross your path is a bad omen.

Not Savanna Gephard. After all, the cat that crossed her path one day on the Sage campus brought a big part of her life into focus. 

But before we go into those details, let’s step back. 

Savanna joined the class of 2017 at Sage thinking she’d pursue a career in nursing, but it wasn’t long before she realized this path wasn’t for her. She spent the summer after freshman year thinking she’d become a lawyer, majoring in Political Science. But by the time the next fall semester arrived she’d nixed that idea as well.

Savanna chose instead to declare Biology as her major, with a minor in Nutrition Science. She was back to thinking of a career in medicine, but this time as a physician.

Then came the day she found the lost cat and decided to bring it back to her dorm room. She would eventually find the cat’s owner, but not until she realized, as someone who’d grown up with pets, that taking care of animals was her true calling. She began volunteering at a cat shelter in Albany called Whiskers Animal Benevolent League.

Savanna graduated from the University of Illinois-College of Veterinary Medicine in May 2021, with a position already lined up at Northeast Indiana Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital. She feels sure she’s on the path perfectly suited for her.

In a way, Sage was for Savanna what she was to that lost cat.  “It changed the course of my life,” she says. 

Before arriving on campus, she explains, she’d been shy. “But Sage advocates that you find and use your voice,” she says. “‘No’ isn’t something you hear very often. The approach was, ‘Let’s see how we can make that happen for you.’” 

What happened was Savanna made a solid group of friends and was a member of the Dance Ensemble for four years.

“At Sage, you’re taught how to own it,” she says. So own it she did.

With a little extra help.  

Savanna had been late to this idea of going to veterinary school, something that’s hard to achieve under the best of circumstances. But Kristi LaMonica, Assistant Professor of Biology and Health Sciences stepped up for her.

“She said, Don’t worry, we’ve got you,” Savanna remembers. 

And while there are only 30 accredited veterinary schools in the entire country, Savanna got in.