Samantha Hopper

Spain Support Staff

Sam earned a Bachelor’s in Animal Science at the University of Tennessee Knoxville in December of 2022. She will be beginning Veterinary school at the University of Tennessee in 2023. She has always dreamed of becoming a Veterinarian and worked towards that goal after shadowing her hometown Vet in Atoka, TN at 12 years old. In her Senior year of high school, she got her first job at a small animal clinic in Memphis, TN where she was able to get her foot in the door with the profession as a kennel technician. Since then, she has worked at another small animal clinic, a mixed animal hospital, and a large animal hospital as a veterinary assistant/technician. This has allowed her to work with a variety of animals, especially horses at the large animal hospital. She has also volunteered at several shelters and dog rescues over the years. Some of her favorite memories are taking the dogs from the rescues to the local dog wash in her car and then a pup cup after! She traveled in 2022 with Loop Abroad to South Africa working with Running Wild’s Cheetah Conservation and Breeding facility. Sam has always loved Big Cats, and this trip reaffirmed her love for not only big cats but other exotic animals. Her favorite animal that she got to see was the Hippopotamus at Kruger National Park! When she isn’t working with animals, Sam loves cheering on the Vols at the University of Tennessee in all sports, but especially Football. She also loves playing both indoor and sand volleyball, listening to true crime podcasts, and looking for ways to her next travel destination — her goal is to make it to all 7 continents.