AUBURN, Ala. – Tiffany Howard cannot recall a time when she didn't want to be a veterinarian.
"My mom let me get hamsters. I've had all kinds of pocket pets," Howard reminisced. "We had a black lab and we were best friends. I knew at a young age I wanted to be a veterinarian."
Throughout her education, Howard learned about other careers.
"Nothing ever seemed right," she said. "I stuck with it."
Seven years ago, Howard helped lead Auburn's softball team to back-to-back SEC Tournament championships and Women's College World Series appearances.
Auburn's career leader with 11 triples, Howard's .362 batting average ranks No. 5 in program history. She's fourth in games played (246) and runs scored (223), and fifth in hits (260) and on-base percentage (.441)
"We were so close," said Howard of her teammates, especially her fellow Class of 2016 seniors. "The camaraderie was the main thing. You sweat together, cry together. I miss the sisterhood of playing on a team. That's what stood out the most. We were a really good family."
Tiffany Howard helped Auburn reach the finals of the 2016 WCWS
Lessons learned at Jane B. Moore Field came in handy on the other side of Wire Road years later during vet school.
"With time management and handling stressful situations, I think it's helped a ton," she said.
After graduating from Auburn University's College of Sciences and Mathematics in integrative biology in December 2016, Howard's first attempt to attend Auburn's College of Veterinary Medicine was a swing and a miss.
Following her admissions interview, advisers recommended that Howard either try again the next year after establishing in-state residency or go back to school to raise her GPA to make it more competitive.
"I did both," said Howard, who worked at an animal clinic for a year, then took graduate courses at Auburn for a year before reapplying and earning admission.
After Howard graduated from Auburn's vet school in May, she heard someone refer to her as "doctor" for the first time.
"When it finally happened, it's like a breath of fresh air," she said. "I've spent a lot of my life trying to get to this point. It's indescribable, honestly, because I'm at the end of my goal so I'm asking, what's next?"
What's next for Tiffany Howard is joining the veterinary practice in Clarksville, Tennessee, where she fulfilled her preceptorship, the last step in the journey to becoming a vet.
"The eight doctors there were really great mentors," she said. "I knew I'd fit in there."
Howard credits Auburn's CVM with preparing students to treat animals of all sizes, from horses to hamsters.
"The great thing about Auburn's vet school is they basically teach you everything the entire four years," she said. "They teach it all."
To girls who share her love for softball and aspire to become veterinarians, Howard offers advice.
"It's hard but it is doable," she said. "If that's what you want to do, you're going to be able to do it."
'I stuck with it': AUCVM 2023 graduate Dr. Tiffany Howard
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer