Reiss Gidner

Trip Leader

Reiss was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, right outside of Washington DC. As a child, she fell in love with animals at the Smithsonian National Zoo. Reiss traveled with Loop Abroad to Thailand in 2017, and again with Loop to the Galapagos in 2019. These trips were incredibly meaningful to her, and she’s ecstatic to be a part of providing this experience to other students as a Trip Leader.

In 2020, Reiss graduated from Virginia Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and Theatre Performance. After graduation, she worked as a surgical assistant at Veterinary Surgical Centers before starting veterinary school at Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine in 2021. She plans to pursue a veterinary career in small animal surgery as well as wildlife and zoological medicine.

At Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, Reiss works as a student technician at the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital and as a student milker at the Teaching Dairy Barn. She is involved in multiple student organizations, including Omega Tau Sigma Veterinary Fraternity, the Cornell Zoo and Wildlife Society, Small Animal Surgery Club, and the Cornell Dance Collective. She also serves as the President of Cornell’s Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) and hopes to effect positive change in veterinary students’ well-being and diversity.

Reiss loves to spend time with her family dogs, Bella and Beau, and cat, Finley. She adores traveling and experiencing new cultures. And she loves finding ways to be creative, whether it’s sewing scrub caps or coming up with the next best pun.