Nicole Getzloff, the advisor of Northcentral Technical College (NTC)’s Student Chapter of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (SCNAVTA), was selected as the Student Advisor of the year by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA).
“It was surprising to get this award because I’ve only been the advisor for two years,” Getzloff said. “It makes me feel good to know I’ve made that big of an impact that people were willing to nominate me. We definitely have a lot to build on and a lot more room for growth.”
Getzloff described veterinary technicians as the nurses of the animal world. In addition to medical care, veterinary technicians are taught to be dental hygienists, radiologists and phlebotomists, how to perform euthanasia and how to have compassion for the animals’ owners.
“Everything in human medicine that there’s a specialty for, we do all of it,” Getzloff said. “There’s really no limitation on what our job is. No two days are the same.”
The purpose of the club is to promote professional and educational advancement of veterinary technicians while also promoting progressing and humane medical care for animals. Inclusion is important to NTC and the program, and anyone who enters the Veterinary Technician Associate Degree program is automatically a part of the club, giving all students the same opportunities.

Being a part of the club gives students the opportunity for more hands-on experiences. The club helps put on vaccine clinics at area humane societies, which is one of the activities students are often most excited about.
“They love getting time out in the real world,” Getzloff said. “You can talk to them all day about a scenario, but some things are best taught by experience.”
The vaccine clinics operate much the same as it would if the students were working in the real world, down to the check in and discharge process for the animals.
“It’s fun to watch students problem solve their way through situations that arise,” Getzloff said. “There is always a huge teamwork aspect, which is cool to see.”
In addition to opportunities for students to practice their skills, the club also focuses on the students’ mental health and wellness.
“Veterinary medicine is a hard profession,” Getzloff said. “I am a resource for them if they have something they’re struggling with. I think serving as the advisor makes me more approachable because I’m spending time with them outside of the classroom.”
There is currently a demand for more veterinary technicians, and the industry is looking for ways to utilize veterinary technicians more, as the veterinarian is only one person and can only do so much.
“During Covid, a lot of people adopted pets because they were home more, so the number of animal owners increased, but the number of veterinarians has not,” Getzloff said. “The challenge is how can we take the support team and elevate them to make the most out of an animal’s experience.”
Getzloff is a certified veterinary technician and pursues her passion both as an assistant instructor at NTC and as a veterinary technician working in the field. Recently, when she was volunteering at the humane society, someone dropped off two lifeless kittens. She took them home with her and nursed them back to health.
“One of my favorite parts of the profession is it’s a forever developing industry,” she said. “There’s always a new medicine, something new to learn.”
Getzloff is also on a SCNAVTA committee working to build a mentorship program to connect chapters around the country. Some chapters are very well established, and some are just starting out, so she envisions partnering these chapters together to help them grow and succeed.
“It’s been exciting for me,” she said. “I’ve met some great people and had great opportunities.”
She is excited to see how the club at NTC grows in the future and loves watching the students find themselves.
“No two students are the same,” she said. “Everybody has a different interest, everybody learns differently. In my role, I really get the opportunity to get to know the students outside of the academic part.
“It’s fun to learn about them and then see the academic side and see the whole person,” she added. “It shows me who they are and what they’re going to bring to the industry.”