“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

Introduction

Dr. Erica Jenkin is a great example of resilience. Her narrative shows how drive, flexibility, and enthusiasm can change a person’s path even when things are tough. Her journey has never been linear; rather, it has been a meandering path filled with challenges, triumphs, setbacks, and fresh starts. Dr. Erica has stayed strong through it all, constructing a life based on family, love of animals, education, and the idea that nothing is too hard to get past.

Her childhood on a family farm shaped who she is now. Her mother worked as a nurse and her father as a journeyman linesman, so she learned early on how important it is to be responsible and disciplined. Dr. Erica got used to the routine of farm life with her two sisters, one older and one younger. The days were busy, with a lot of time spent rearing animals, taking care of them, and getting ready for competitions. She remembers spending many hours displaying cows and horses and even going all over North America to compete. Being around animals and getting support from her family at those times made her passionate about something that would be a big part of who she was for the rest of her life.

But school was a very different task for her, even though the farm helped her spirit. Dr. Erica didn’t find school easy, as a lot of her friends did. She often had to work twice as hard for what she calls “mediocre marks.” It was real and sometimes too much to handle. Only after a psychoeducational assessment revealed that she had multiple learning disabilities did the puzzle begin to come together. For years, she had been curious about why some ideas were so challenging to understand and why she needed to hear them in multiple ways before they eventually made sense. Initially challenging, the test proved to be a pivotal moment. It helped her see things by giving her tactics that let her feel sure of herself as she moved forward. Still, learning was challenging for her, and she battled it every day.

For many young people, this kind of news would have made them give up on their dreams, but Dr. Erica took a different road. She had always wanted to be a veterinarian since she loved animals so much. Her academic problems made that dream harder to reach, but they never took away her desire. Instead, they changed her goals and led her to new paths where her love of animals could still grow. Initially, her scholarship at the University of Findlay in Ohio appeared to be the opportunity she had been eagerly anticipating, but destiny had different intentions. An unexpected knee injury kept her from passing her NCAA physical, which meant she lost her scholarship and had to rethink her plans for the future. What should have been the end of her academic journey turned out to be a new path. She went to Olds College to get a diploma in equine science business management. This combined her passion for horses with useful abilities that would help her in the business world later.

After then, Dr. Erica’s career went in unforeseen directions. She started working with banks in Alberta, including TD Bank, as an agricultural account manager. This job kept her connected to her farming and animal health roots. Life eventually brought her back to Ontario, where she took a job with the Western Fair Organization. She got back in touch with her actual passion for animal health by hosting livestock festivals and agricultural fairs. This was more than simply a job; it was the start of a career that would combine her passion for animals with her burgeoning business and teaching talents.

“And when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful.”

Phase 1: Dr. Erica Jenkin’s Childhood : A Tough Learning Patch

The story of every great life starts with the peaceful years of childhood. For Dr. Erica Jenkin, those years were full of love, hard work, resilience, and a strong desire to never give up. Even though she would eventually go into medicine and research, the values, experiences, and problems she had as a child were what helped her on her way. Her childhood is not just a story about family ties or growing up on a farm. It shows how having supportive parents, close siblings, and a strong will can help someone get ready for the hard roads of life.

Dr. Erica came from a household that was both dedicated and balanced. She often says, “I had a great childhood,” which is a simple but a grateful way to describe how nice her childhood was. She said her parents were “phenomenal.” They showed her how to be strong and caring, which changed how she saw the world and how she could approach problems head-on. There were five people in the family: Dr. Erica’s mother, father, and two sisters, one older and one younger.

Being the middle child has its own set of challenges. She could look up to her elder sister for advice and be a role model and protector to her younger sister at the same time. This balance instilled in her a profound feeling of responsibility, sensitivity, and adaptability. These are some of the traits that would subsequently prove vital in her scholastic and professional endeavours. Her parents had busy jobs. Her mother was a full-time nurse, which meant she had to be very caring, strict, and strong.

Dr. Erica saw the strength of caring for others, feeling for them, and putting their health and happiness ahead of her own through her. Her father worked full-time as a journeyman linesman, a job that required technical competence, physical strength, and a lot of bravery because he often had to operate in dangerous situations to keep people connected and safe. Both parents also had to farm, which meant that their kids grew up in the cycles of nature, the difficulties of farming, and the joy of seeing their work pay off. Dr. Erica learned to value hard work deeply by living a dual life as a farmer and a professional. The Jenkins farm never had any spare time. Everyone in the family helped out in their own way, learning that hard labour, persistence, and working together were not optional but necessary to keep the home and the income from the land going.

“Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.”

Phase 2: Overcoming Challenges : Battling the Insecurities, Moving Forward

Life often tests our dreams. Dr. Erica Jenkin thought that the years after her upbringing on the farm would be the next natural step toward reaching the goals she had set for herself since she was an infant girl. She loved animals, was very disciplined about displaying horses, and worked diligently all the time. Because of this, she got a wonderful chance: a scholarship to the University of Findlay in Ohio, one of the best schools in North America for equestrian studies and animal sciences.

At that point, this scholarship seemed like the end of years of diligent effort, both on the farm and in the competitive circuits of showing horses. It wasn’t just about giving her money; it was also a way to show her how much they cared about her enthusiasm, effort, and potential. This was a really affirming moment for a young woman who had trouble with schoolwork because of her learning problems. It meant that she was worth moving forward, getting chances, and developing a career that linked her passion for horses with her professional skills, even when there were problems.

But life doesn’t always go according to our meticulously laid plans.

For Dr. Erica, winning the scholarship at the University of Findlay was not just a question of prestige but also a strong confirmation of her skills. She had always worked harder than most of her classmates, even though she often felt frustrated and unsure of herself. But this showed that hard work and desire may pay off. The University of Findlay opened up a world of possibilities for her. She could receive advanced training in equine science, meet professionals, and work in the field she had dreamed of since she was a youngster.

The scholarship and her admittance into the program made her and her family ecstatic. Her parents, who had worked hard to raise her, were both proud and relieved. For years, they had watched their daughter work hard on her schooling, pushing over the invisible boundaries that came with her learning impairments. They could see her going to a place that knew what she was good at and provided her the chance to do well.

“Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.”

Phase 3 : A Lifelong Devotion: Dr. Erica Jenkin’s Journey in Animal Health

Dr. Erica Jenkin has always been driven by a fundamental passion: animal health. Every part of her life, from growing up on a farm with animals and horses to going to school and working, has the same theme. No matter what she has done in her life, whether it was working in finance, planning agricultural events, or training veterinarians, it has always been in line with her love for animals and her desire to help them live happier lives.

After finishing her studies at Olds College, Dr. Erica started working in an area she didn’t expect: finance. She used the business management abilities she had obtained to work with a number of banks in Alberta. The discipline and expertise she earned from her diploma in equine science business management made it easy for her to work in banking and finance, especially when she took on a specialized role at TD Bank.

Dr. Erica worked for TD as an agriculture account manager. This job was one of her first chances to combine her understanding of farming with her work. She didn’t only see the job as a way to get money; she also thought about animal health and farm management. She worked directly with farmers, getting to know their needs, their animals, and the special problems that come with trying to make a living while farming. This experience strengthened her long-held opinion that agriculture and animal health are linked in ways that go beyond just being sectors; they are also lifelines for families and communities.

Dr. Erica may not have wanted to work in banking for the rest of her life, but her years in finance helped her improve her communication, negotiation, and relationship-building abilities. These talents would later come in handy when she went back to working with animals.

After living in Alberta, Dr. Erica made a big choice to go back to Ontario. She immediately reconnected with her true passion for animal health and agricultural activities there. She started working with the Western Fair Organization, which is famous for putting on fairs, livestock shows, and agricultural exhibitions.

Note of Thanks

As we come to the end of this biographical journey, we are sincerely grateful for all the people, hands, hearts, and voices that have shaped her story. There is no success, milestone, or personal victory that stands alone. People around us have helped, strengthened, and kept us going every step of the way. We are thankful for the people, communities, and institutions that have been with her, lifted her up, and encouraged her to keep going as she contemplated her journey.

First, we thank Dr. Jenkin’s family members. Family has been the most important part of her life and the major source of her strength. We owe so much to the people closest to her, from the early days of childhood when she learned the value of hard work and resilience on the farm to now, when love and support are the basis for everything she does. Her parents taught her how to be responsible, kind, and persistent in ways that will stay with her for the rest of her life. They taught her not only how to be disciplined and work toward her objectives but also how to be kind and care for others. Her sisters have been there for her through good times and bad, always reminding her that she does not have to tackle any difficulty alone.

We want to thank her husband and children from the bottom of our hearts. Her husband has been a real partner in every way: sharing the work, celebrating the successes, and keeping the vision that has inspired her work alive. They have developed a life and a business together based on shared goals, sacrifices, and happiness. Their children have been both the reason she does what she does and the reason she still remains grounded. Their tolerance as she worked long hours, their support when she was unsure, and their delight in her achievements provided her with strength that cannot be measured. Even when life presented her with unexpected challenges, such as the years she spent recuperating from physical injuries, her family’s love and support kept her going.

We sincerely thank the schools and teachers who saw her abilities even when she had trouble learning. They provided the tools she needed to succeed through their assistance, patience, and willingness to make learning easier. The psychoeducational evaluation that revealed how she learned differently was life-changing. With that knowledge and the help of mentors and teachers, she learned that problems could be turned into strategies and obstacles could become opportunities to progress. We owe a great deal to the individuals who provided her with educational opportunities, from the time she received her diploma in equine science to the present, as she continues to pursue further degrees.

Thank You
– Dr. Erica Jenkin