Interview with Ronald Smith, June 8, 2022

Interview Summary

Ronald Smith Ecuador 1967-1970, Smith joined the Peace Corps after graduating from veterinary school. After pre-service training in Bozeman, Montana, he served as an extension veterinarian with the cattle reproduction center in Santo Domingo de las Tsachilas and supported the production of hybrid types of cattle resistant to disease and parasites. He set up a veterinary diagnostic laboratory and advised Ecuadoran veterinary students studying in Quito. For Smith, his service re-directed his career plans becoming an expert in veterinary epidemiology, particularly diseases related to ticks and parasites. He’s consulted with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, among others. His emphasis on epidemiology informed his teaching at the University of Illinois. Smith’s accomplishments as a Volunteer, beyond the diagnostic laboratory that he created, include increasing farmers’ financial stability through their production and sale of hybrid cattle, studying parasites in calves before weaning, and creating lifelong friendships with Ecuadorians. In the process, he learned to listen to others, and to appreciate what he has in life.

Interview Keyword

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Ecuador Vetinary school Bozeman, Montana Cattle reproduction center Santo Domingo de las Tsachilas Hybrid Diseases and parasites Veterinary diagnostic laboratory Veterinary epidemiology Ticks United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization University of Illinois Listening

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