EP05 Meet the Team - Rebecca Newman

On this episode of Vet Tech Talk we welcome Rebecca Newman. Rebecca is the Wellbeing Coordinator at App State’s Veterinary Technology Program. She is a frequent volunteer in the veterinary community, with a focus on wellbeing and advocacy. She and her husband live on a farm in rural Colorado with their 17 well-loved animals.

 

Transcript

Dave:
Hello there. Welcome to Vet Tech Talk! I'm Dave Blanks, and I work here at App State in University Communications. On this episode, we're joined by Rebecca Newman. Rebecca is new to App State and has taken on the role of Well Being Coordinator for the Veterinary Technology Program. Her passion for wellbeing began when she was a college student working with adolescents with substance use disorders. While pursuing graduate work in clinical psychology,
Newman worked as a therapist, primarily focused on anxiety and depressive disorders as well as eating disorders. Always an enthusiastic animal lover, Newman became a credentialed veterinary technician in
2016 and combined her passions for wellbeing, education, and veterinary medicine in her role as Student Services Coordinator and then Student Affairs Director at Bel-Rea Institute. Newman served on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians from 2018-2022. Rebecca and her husband live in Colorado on a ranch with so many animals. We’ll get into that in just a bit. Here’s my conversation with Rebecca Newman. 

Welcome to the podcast, Rebecca.

Rebecca Newman:

Thank you so much, Dave.

Dave:

Yeah, I'm glad you're here. So are you ready to get, can we get started? Is that cool with you?

Rebecca Newman:

I would love to.

Dave:

Let's jump in. So Rebecca Newman, your official title is the wellbeing coordinator for the Veterinary Technology program here at App State.

Rebecca Newman:

That is correct.

Dave:

All right. So have you been a wellbeing coordinator for a veterinary technology program before?

Rebecca Newman:

I have not.

Dave:

Oh, new experience. All right.

Rebecca Newman:

New experience.

Dave:

Excellent. So what does that entail, being a wellbeing coordinator? We'll get into a little bit about your background, but just brief overview, what's your gig here at Appalachian?

Rebecca Newman:

So it is a new role in veterinary technology programs,

Dave:

Okay.

Rebecca Newman:

And I believe App State has the very first wellbeing coordinator in the United States for a veterinary technology program. And this is huge because wellbeing is an area that has been kind of a side note in vet med, and we are bringing it to the forefront. App State is leading the way.

Dave:

Awesome. How, Rebecca, did you come into this position? Where'd you start? Was it in the world of veterinary medicine somehow,

Rebecca Newman:

Sure.

Dave:

Or?

Rebecca Newman:

Well, actually, my first career was in clinical psychology. I worked with college students at Rutgers University.

Dave:

Okay.

Rebecca Newman:

And I wanted to become a psychologist. My path changed over time and I actually went back to school to become a veterinary technician. So I am a,

Dave:

Really?

Rebecca Newman:

A certified veterinary technician.

Dave:

How uniquely qualified are you for this?

Rebecca Newman:

I have to say, Dave, these are three of my greatest passions. One, veterinary medicine, two, wellbeing, and three, education and working with students.

Dave:

Awesome. Wow. Okay. Well that's super interesting to hear. So let's see, how did you find out about this particular position?

Rebecca Newman:

Well, so I live in Colorado.

Dave:

Oh, okay. All right. Cool.

Rebecca Newman:

Yeah, I was student affairs director at a program there, and I left the program to spend a year working on my farm.

Dave:

Cool.

Rebecca Newman:

And,

Dave:

What kind of farm?

Rebecca Newman:

Oh, we basically take in as many old animals as possible. They don't make us any money, and that just provides extreme happiness to my husband and myself.

Dave:

That's great. Is it like agritourism in a way? Do you have people come by or volunteer or?

Rebecca Newman:

You know what, that's down the road.

Dave:

Okay. All Right.

Rebecca Newman:

Dream big.

Dave:

Yeah. Right. Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

For right now it is a, we have 18 animals.

Dave:

Awesome.

Rebecca Newman:

And goats.

Dave:

Okay.

Rebecca Newman:

One-eyed horse, chickens, two cats.

Dave:

Okay. Have you seen, okay, there's this lady on Instagram, I feel like it's called Useless Farm, is what her name is.

Rebecca Newman:

Ooh. I should talk to her.

Dave:

She's a hoot. She's really funny. She has this super aggressive ostrich who, I'm think his name, Karen, and I swear that's what it's called. I'm just going to Google it right now. But yes, she's really, really funny and I highly recommend her. Some of it may be not safe for work type stuff, but isn't that what it's called? Useless Farm.

Rebecca Newman:

I would say we make no money.

Dave:

Anyway. Well, that's cool that you're doing that. I love that. So you're actively doing that, but now this is an online program, the veterinary technology program. So you can live in Colorado.

Rebecca Newman:

Exactly.

Dave:

Even though you're in studio in Boone. How many times have you been to Boone?

Rebecca Newman:

Ooh, this is my first time.

Dave:

What do you think?

Rebecca Newman:

I love it.

Dave:

We have more green than you all have,

Rebecca Newman:

Oh, yes.

Dave:

In Colorado.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

But your mountains are super dramatic. I mean, there is that.

Rebecca Newman:

Our mountains are dramatic and yet maybe not as accessible.

Dave:

Yeah, they're not. I know. That's what I've heard. I had friends that moved to Colorado and they were like, God, I just missed the green.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

I miss it being such a easy thing to do to get out on the trail. It's slightly more of an ordeal or you plan,

Rebecca Newman:

It is much more of an ordeal. I live on the eastern plains.

Dave:

Okay.

Rebecca Newman:

So very rural. I live on a dirt road, off of a dirt road.

Dave:

Love it.

Rebecca Newman:

And so I love coming to Boone and seeing the small towns around here.

Dave:

Oh, yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

And the mountains and the green that,

Dave:

Have you been to Grandfather?

Rebecca Newman:

Not yet.

Dave:

Oh, you got to go to Grandfather.

Rebecca Newman:

But I am planning.

Dave:

Okay, cool.

Rebecca Newman:

Planning it.

Dave:

That sounds like a interesting intersection of passions that have brought you into this position. So as far as you interacting with students, has that occurred yet? Because this program is brand new, so,

Rebecca Newman:

Right.

Dave:

Yeah. Have you started your work?

Rebecca Newman:

Well, one of the amazing things happened last night. We had an in-person meet and greet for our students.

Dave:

Here on campus.

Rebecca Newman:

Here on campus in the solarium.

Dave:

Nice.

Rebecca Newman:

And it was a great success. And when I say success, I am not talking about huge numbers of students.

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

I'm talking about the connections that are made.

Dave:

Yeah. Right.

Rebecca Newman:

We met students who drove from two hours away, three hours away, because they wanted to make those connections.

Dave:

Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

And that is one of the essential components of wellbeing and something that research has shown and we have seen in our field just help students thrive and leads to a sustainable career.

Dave:

Yeah. So how do you address that with an online program?

Rebecca Newman:

That,

Dave:

Because the connection,

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

Is in person that you made yesterday was it you said in the solarium.

Rebecca Newman:

Yesterday. Yeah.

Dave:

That's not going to always be easily achievable.

Rebecca Newman:

Correct.

Dave:

That's quite an interesting challenge for you.

Rebecca Newman:

Well, I love challenges.

Dave:

All right. Good.

Rebecca Newman:

And most importantly, I work with an amazing team here at App State. The vet tech team as well as all of the other faculty and staff that I've met on campus have been amazingly supportive. So,

Dave:

Hey, I'm on your side.

Rebecca Newman:

Thank You.

Dave:

All right. Yes.

Rebecca Newman:

Thank you.

Dave:

Yes.

Rebecca Newman:

So I'll tap into any resources I can.

Dave:

Please. Yeah. Whatever I can record for you, allow me to help.

Rebecca Newman:

I will say that during the height of the pandemic, I was kind of in charge of moving a vet tech program online that was brick and mortar.

Dave:

Oh.

Rebecca Newman:

And temporarily we moved it online.

Dave:

They had not signed up for that.

Rebecca Newman:

No.

Dave:

Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

No.

Dave:

Gotcha.

Rebecca Newman:

So seeing, learning the lessons from that experience, I couldn't be more excited at all of the new ways that students can connect online and feel like a community.

Dave:

Right. It is way easier just because of the growing pains that have to do with adopting new technology. Zoom is so much more of a normalized thing than it was pre pandemic. So yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

Yeah. That is an advantage. So is that part of you all's work, or are you having like, we're going to do a little mixer here and we're going to talk about X, Y, Z.

Rebecca Newman:

Absolutely. So this semester being the first semester of the program, we're taking things one step at a time,

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

And planning things out, getting feedback from students, faculty, and staff. But for example, we are having a virtual meet and greet next week.

Dave:

Cool.

Rebecca Newman:

Which,

Dave:

Not everybody could drive here, I'm sure.

Rebecca Newman:

Exactly.

Dave:

Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

Exactly. And that is a huge, huge thing that we want to keep in mind is accessibility. So giving equal access, equitable access to our students, and finding ways to ensure that connections can be made by each and every student, faculty, and staff member of our program.

Dave:

Wellbeing is a vital part of veterinary technology, veterinary medicine, but it's not something that was a big emphasis in the programs in veterinary medicine, veterinary technology. How is Apps program addressing it? I mean, I know we have you, but what does that say? I guess that says that App thinks it's pretty important.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes. I mean, I think that's one of the reasons I came here is because you all are leading the way, and really,

Dave:

We are leading the way.

Rebecca Newman:

We,

Dave:

Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes, you're right. Thank you.

Dave:

Yeah. You're welcome.

Rebecca Newman:

We are leading the wave and paving the way for what I believe will be a better future for the veterinary field.

Dave:

You shared some powerful information about the challenges that veterinary technicians face when it comes to their wellbeing. So can you share some of that with our listeners?

Rebecca Newman:

Absolutely. So there are a couple of unique challenges faced in veterinary medicine. One is, I would say moral distress is the term that we use that is felt by veterinary professionals. And that occurs when, let's say someone comes and wishes they could give their dog that $5,000 surgery.

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

They don't have the funds.

Dave:

Yes.

Rebecca Newman:

And so the dog ends up being euthanized.

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

And that has an impact on everyone, especially those who are working in the field and see that on a daily or weekly basis.

Dave:

Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

So moral distress and compassion fatigue. This field is filled with beautiful people who want to help animals, and they would give the shirt off their back to help an animal, whether it is a dog, a cat, llama, snake, you name it.

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

It really runs the gamut. And while that is an amazing characteristic to have, it also means that there is compassion fatigue in the field.

Dave:

It's a vulnerability.

Rebecca Newman:

It is.

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

It is. It's,

Dave:

It's a superpower, but it's also a vulnerability.

Rebecca Newman:

And Dave, I love that you said it's a superpower. That's what I get to do as wellbeing coordinator, is help students, faculty, and staff recognize those superpowers, recognize their character strengths, and be aware of when those superpowers are maybe doing a little bit more harm than the good that they can do.

Dave:

So Rebecca, you did tell me that a lot of the people that are, and we kind of touched on it, that are attracted to this program, that are built for this are in fact introverts. And you yourself you said were an introvert too.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

Even though you're talking to me, we're communicating very freely. So can you tell me a little bit about that?

Rebecca Newman:

I sure can. I would consider myself an introvert. I love meeting new people. I love speaking in public. And yet,

Dave:

Wow. Yeah. You're a weird introvert.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes. However, not as uncommon as you'd think.

Dave:

Sell me on it. Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

So at the end of those periods of extroversion, I recharge by going to a quiet space, spending time alone, practicing meditation, things like that. Those are all parts of my wellbeing. And it's not that everyone in this field is an introvert by any means.

Dave:

Sure. No.

Rebecca Newman:

But it tends, research does show that two of the common characteristics of veterinary professionals is introversion, and also we score high on perfectionism. So those are two traits that I keep in mind when I'm thinking about developing our wellbeing program here at App State for vet tech.

Dave:

Absolutely. Well, as far as overriding theories or places you come back to as far as wellbeing, what are you drawing from? Is it like cognitive behavioral therapy or?

Rebecca Newman:

Oh, Dave, I love your questions and,

Dave:

Oh, thanks.

Rebecca Newman:

Positive psychology is really what guides me today.

Dave:

Okay. Let's define that.

Rebecca Newman:

So positive psychology looks at how someone is functioning and flourishing in their lives as opposed to what we used to do in psychology.

Dave:

Look at how you're failing.

Rebecca Newman:

Yeah.

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

And what disorder do you have? I mean, I have a bunch of disorders. Does that help me? Maybe a little bit, but what really helps is identifying ways I can thrive in this world. I should back up and say that Dr. Martin Seligman is the founder of positive psychology of University of Pennsylvania, and he's had just a phenomenal impact on the direction of wellbeing. With positive psychology, this is the framework that I am taking into the program and for not just students, it really starts with our faculty and staff, ensuring that they have the resources, the tools to flourish in their lives.

Dave:

So you're going to be part of the staff.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

So that means you have to take care of yourself.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

You said you like to recharge alone, but does that include your animals? Do you feel like you're alone when you're with your animals?

Rebecca Newman:

Oh, that's a really great question.

Dave:

Because are you an introvert if you just spending time with animals? Maybe there should be a different term for that.

Rebecca Newman:

I know. I mean, I think I'm an introvert with extroverted tendencies, perhaps.

Dave:

Yeah, yeah, sure. But if you're an introvert and then you spend time by yourself away from people, but you're with your animals, you're still being social in a way. I mean,

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

Well, so here's what I really want to get at is tell me about the animals that are in your life. Unless there's anything else that you want to cover on the clinical side, on the wellbeing side that the program, we're so glad to have you. We're very excited about this program.

Rebecca Newman:

Thank you.

Dave:

Yeah, I'm glad you're here. Glad you're a part of Appalachian State now. But tell me about these animals. Tell me about your farm.

Rebecca Newman:

All right.

Dave:

Does your farm have a name?

Rebecca Newman:

The Newman Ranch.

Dave:

All right.

Rebecca Newman:

Yes.

Dave:

Makes sense. All right.

Rebecca Newman:

And it has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to live on a farm. Currently, we have 18 animals, and we have a one-eyed horse named Gulliver. Just a beautiful creature. He was originally a wild Mustang, trained early on to be a therapy horse, and he's got to be about 30 years old now.

Dave:

Wow.

Rebecca Newman:

Knowing that everyone, even animals need connections, we got him some goat friends. So now we have Gulliver and the goats, our six goats. And feel free to use that as a band name.

Dave:

Please. Yeah, it sounds like a cartoon that my kids would really love. Gulliver and the goats.

Rebecca Newman:

Gulliver and the goats. And I have to say, being with the animals is when I am just at peace and I can be completely in the present, which I think is, it's just an amazing tool in my toolkit for refreshing and for fueling up for what I can give to this program.

Dave:

The bond between humans and animals is something that we touch on a lot in this podcast. And I think it's very clear that you have a strong bond with these animals.

Rebecca Newman:

Extremely,

Dave:

Yeah.

Rebecca Newman:

Strong. And I haven't even mentioned my dogs, one of them being the canine love of my life.

Dave:

Oh, wow.

Rebecca Newman:

Moby.

Dave:

Moby.

Rebecca Newman:

Moby. He is 13 years old. He's getting a little gray around,

 

 

Rebecca Newman:

Yes. And I guess I do want to just say that I see the importance for our students, our faculty, and our staff. I see the importance of that human animal bond, and it is such a beautiful connection. And at the same time, it's just as important to encourage human to human connections.

Dave:

Right.

Rebecca Newman:

And so that will be a big part of the program as well. Relationships are one of the things that really predict our happiness, our ability to thrive, our ability to, our resiliency. And so relationships and connections, belonging, those will all be themes of the wellbeing program.

Dave:

How do people find out more about you? How do people get in touch with you?

Rebecca Newman:

Oh, well, please feel free to email me is a great way, Newmanrl@appstate.edu.

Dave:

Okay.

Rebecca Newman:

You can also look on the App State vet tech page, which is vettech.appstate.edu. And,

Dave:

Yeah, it has, I think your picture's on here with how many of your animals are featured here?

Rebecca Newman:

I think you,

Dave:

Let's see. Oh, I see. So is that Gulliver?

Rebecca Newman:

That's Gulliver.

Dave:

Oh, okay. Perfect. Well, to see Gulliver, yeah, check out vettech.appstate.edu. And Rebecca, thank you for your time. I really appreciate you being here, and I hope you enjoy your time in Boone, and I hope you can go back to Colorado and recharge, but then that you can come back here sometime soon.

Rebecca Newman:

Oh, Dave, thank you so much for having me today. It was a real pleasure.