Leader in the Making
Silke Hoffmann spent a lot of time in Germany as a child and was enamored with a bay horse that lived in a field behind her grandmother’s house.
As all horse-crazy girls do, she eventually convinced her parents to let her take riding lessons. Being on the back of a horse helped plant the idea of becoming a veterinarian.
When Hoffmann later attended Cal Poly Pomona as an undergrad, she joined the school’s Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association team and worked as a veterinary technician for an equine veterinarian. For Hoffmann, that job was the key to knowing she was on the right path.
“It’s a service industry that really helps people,” Hoffmann said. “I enjoyed the science and the critical thinking. The pieces all made sense to me. I have never doubted my choice.”
She also credits the experience with teaching her about the realities of the job, from the challenge of late nights to the satisfaction of making a difference in people’s lives.
Hoffmann did not have pets growing up, so prior to her experience as a veterinary technician she had never visited a veterinary clinic.
“It’s really hard to not have that classic ‘horse girl’ experience,” she said. “It still makes me a little insecure. What has really helped is having mentors who believed in me.”
Her advice for others in similar positions is to find good mentors and a community to lean on.
You form your dreams when you are a child. If you dream of becoming an equine veterinarian, you are more likely to become one.”
– Silke Hoffmann
“Try it and see if you like it,” she advised. “You have to be brave. Don’t be afraid to struggle in the beginning. It will only make you a stronger veterinarian, and a stronger person, in the end.”
Although she is the only one in her equine track cohort that identifies as Asian American Pacific Islander, Hoffmann says they all come from different backgrounds and have become very close as a group. She fosters these relationships through her many service roles: co- president of the Equine Medicine and Equine Theriogenology Clubs, a vice-president for the Class of 2024, and a School of Veterinary Medicine Student Ambassador.
She is passionate about the need to expand opportunities for children of different backgrounds as a key to motivating future students to become equine veterinarians.
In her free time, Hoffmann loves to read and is an avid fan of science fiction. She adopted a German shepherd from a shelter during her first year in vet school, naming him Kylo (after Kylo Ren in Star Wars). Other hobbies include watching Netflix and hanging out with friends.
Hoffmann is planning to pursue a rotating equine internship after graduation, followed by an equine theriogenology or internal medicine residency. Ultimately, she wants to work at a multi-doctor practice—ideally one that prioritizes work-life balance for their employees—doing emergency critical care work or theriogenology. She cites supporting fellow veterinarians and making salaries more competitive as ways to ensure that practitioners remain in equine medicine.
She is passionate about the need to expand opportunities for children of different backgrounds as a key to motivating future students to become equine veterinarians.
“You form your dreams when you are a child,” said Hoffmann. “If you dream of becoming an equine veterinarian, you are more likely to become one.”