WORCESTER – After the two-week exploratory phase at Worcester Technical High School, Tim Lavoie '17 knew veterinary assisting was the right path for him. Now, he goes by "Doctor."
Dr. Lavoie recently became the first Worcester Tech alumnus to earn a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) since the veterinary assisting partnership with Tufts University—known as Tufts at Tech—was established in 2012.
“I remember going to Forest Grove (Middle School) and wanting to attend Worcester Tech because I wanted to be a veterinarian. I really enjoyed the veterinarian exploratory periods, and I knew I wanted to continue on,” Lavoie said.
Currently, Lavoie works as a small animal emergency veterinarian at Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital in South Deerfield, and as a general practitioner at Riverlin Animal Hospital in Millbury., where he also worked as part of the Cooperative Education Program (Co-Op) during his senior year at Worcester Tech.
During his four years at Worcester Tech, Lavoie took advantage of the hands-on education available at a tech school. He also learned more about the pathway to becoming a veterinarian through Tufts at Tech staff, made up of Tufts University doctors and veterinary students working toward their own DVMs.
Lavoie says he owes 100% of where he is today to those experiences in high school.
“It really was all possible because of Worcester Tech and the Tufts at Tech program. I got to experience it and fall in love with it, and then the teachers set me up with everything,” said Lavoie. “They helped me decide what college was good for me, helped me hit my prerequisites, helped me graduate early and fast-track it all. All of that is because of the foundation at Worcester Tech.”
According to Lavoie, many candidates complete undergraduate and graduate school before considering applying to veterinary school. However, thanks to the strong network of industry professionals at Tufts at Tech, where students get to assist professionals with providing veterinary care, Lavoie was able to develop a clear plan while still in high school. He would go on to complete his DVM at just 24 years old.
“To be able to pick everyone’s brain while I was still in high school and not only come up with a track, but also getting the insight from professors and (veterinary) students there, and all of that fine-tuning, I mean when I look back I saved years of trying to figure everything out because I had everything right there,” Lavoie said.
Dr. Lavoie cares for a cat after performing a successful Pyometra surgery.
Dr. Lavoie earned his veterinary degree from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts and completed his clinical year at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2024.
In full-circle fashion, Lavoie now works alongside the same industry professionals who helped him as a high school student understand the core basics of veterinary care, such as drawing blood, administering vaccinations, and properly using animal restraints.
He fondly remembers a recent moment of reflection during surgery with Dr. Jason Campbell, co-owner of Riverlin Animal Hospital.
“I looked up to (Dr. Campbell) so much growing up, watching him do surgeries and how amazing he was, and now here I am doing a surgery with him and talking about my perspective on how to do this in an emergency setting and the different ways to do things and coming together on a complicated case. It’s cool to come full circle and be at his level.”
As Dr. Lavoie reflects on his high school journey, he emphasizes the importance of building lasting connections and the role they have played in his postgraduate achievements.
“The connections are huge. Especially at Worcester Technical, every single person there wanted me to succeed and so keeping those connections is huge. Touching base with your teachers and stuff like that, they were there every step of the journey cheering me on. Being able to have that I think is huge.”
Dr. Lavoie cares for a lost domestic pigeon, which he helped to find a new home.
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