Unlocking Access: Training the Next Generation of Vet Professionals on the Texas–Mexico Border

By Elsa Kohlbus, CEO, Be. Spay Neuter

In 2019, I met Amanda Cedillo at Palm Valley Animal Society, a high intake regional animal shelter that sits smack dab on the Texas/Mexico Border in Edinburg, Texas. She stood in a crowd of bright, nervous students all wearing shirts reading “Future Veterinarian,” and it genuinely felt like meeting the future right there in that lobby.

I was working with a team running high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter clinics, and Amanda had brought her students to catch a glimpse of real veterinary medicine. They watched everything, asked sharp questions, soaked up knowledge like sponges, and stepped in to help whenever appropriate and safe. That spark of curiosity created a connection that has turned into something far bigger than either of us ever imagined.

Over the past six years, Amanda has continued building her program. She occasionally reached out to me for guidance, kept pushing, and slowly transformed her classroom at Donna North High School in Donna, Texas into a functioning clinic capable of hosting genuine high-volume spay/neuter days. When Be. Spay Neuter began partnering more formally with her program, something clicked. These public clinics could do double duty: providing affordable care to local families while giving students hands-on, real-world training alongside licensed veterinarians and experienced technicians.

Since our first visit, we’ve held three clinics at Donna North. And each time, the vision gets sharper. Students aren’t just observing. They’re monitoring anesthesia, prepping patients, assisting with clinical tasks, and learning what it feels like to be part of a veterinary care team. They’re gaining skills most people don’t get until years into college. And the timing couldn’t be more urgent.

The veterinary shortage is hitting communities nationwide, but the Texas–Mexico border—where care has always been scarce—feels it more intensely. According to the Veterinary Care Accessibility Project, many border communities score below 10 out of 100 on the VCAS scale. That means basic veterinary care is nearly out of reach for most families. Clinics are few, and care is often unaffordable.

So instead of waiting for help to arrive, this program is building the solution from within the community itself. That’s the magic here. We’re not hoping outside veterinarians will eventually move to the Valley. We’re investing in the young people who already call this place home.

Because the RGV doesn’t lack talent. It doesn’t lack passion. It absolutely doesn’t lack people who care deeply for their pets and their neighbors’ pets. What it lacks is access. Access to training, mentorship, affordable care, and opportunities that help local students become the professionals their community desperately needs.

We’ve also made deliberate choices about who mentors these students. The veterinarians we bring in are selected for their strong training backgrounds, their shared lived experiences with many of the students, and their commitment to accessible care and compassionate teaching. Local technicians have stepped up as well, modeling technical skills and showing students exactly what a career in vet med can look like.

And when students see veterinary medicine up close—and see mentors who look like them, speak like them, and come from communities like theirs—something shifts. A career that once felt distant or “for someone else” becomes theirs to claim.

One day, when these students return as veterinarians, technicians, clinic managers, or shelter leaders, they’ll bring something no outsider can match. They’ll understand the cultural, linguistic, financial, and logistical realities of the Valley. They’ll know how to build trust. They’ll know how to create solutions that fit the way people actually live.

And it’s not just the students who benefit. These clinics have become a regional learning hub. Local veterinarians can come to sharpen their spay/neuter skills. Technicians reconnect with the heart of this work. Public health partners observe and train alongside us. Every clinic strengthens the network of people committed to making care accessible.

What’s emerging is a model that doesn’t just treat animals. It grows a workforce. It builds confidence. It sparks ambition. It plants the seeds of long-term, sustainable change.

This program is proving something powerful: the Rio Grande Valley doesn’t lack talent or passion. It lacks access. By investing in the young people who already care deeply about animals and their community, we’re laying the groundwork for a homegrown, lasting solution to the veterinary care crisis on the border.