A photo of Chelsea Huffman, sporting teal scrubs and an ear-to-ear smile, clutching a baby fox in her hands, does not even begin to tell the story. Chelsea Irene Huffman is one of those rare few people who are born to do what they love. Since infancy, she has nursed a strong desire to work with animals. Images of her favorite animal, the horse, covered her half of the room she shared with her twin sister, Alisha. Huffman could not help but smile when reminiscing on her summers spent at horse camp, or refrain from shouting out the breed of a passing dog. In every aspect of her life, her passion for animals could be seen. This extreme love was exemplified in her pursuit of a gifted mentorship with a veterinary clinic. Once approved, Huffman began her semester-long experience with a mentor at Pet Emergency Center. In this program, she was able to work toward accomplishing that life-long dream of helping various animals to overcome their illness or injury. This mentorship was just the start of Huffman’s six-year college track to becoming a veterinarian. Alongside Huffman’s passion for animals of all sizes, she also has an interest in academics. Throughout her school life, she has shown that she is an exemplary student, consistently receiving good grades in school and placing her in the Summa Cum Laude group for graduation. Even with her course load, Huffman has still managed to enjoy her time with basketball and soccer for both Dimond and a club league. “She’s a fun person,” says Esther Glasionov, also a senior. This seems to be a sentiment echoed by many of Huffman’s friends. Her bubbly personality and vivacious social demeanor make her an enjoyable person with which to spend time. She is one of the few individuals to whom one can tell both a triumph and a tribulation, and receive either a sincere congratulations or a sympathetic shoulder to cry on. “She is so nice and down to earth and makes the best sandwiches,” says Tyler Gillam, a senior. This ambitious and vibrant person is the daughter of Karen Huffman and David Housten. Huffman has a twin sister named Alisha, and is upset to admit that she does not yet have a pet. With luck, that will change once she gets her own home and she can share the domain with a brand new German shepherd. In the fall, Huffman will be attending Gonzaga University to pursue her degree as a veterinarian. Once this achievement has been fulfilled, she will enter into the rest of her life following her dream. “I know vets may not get paid that much money, and I’ll have college loans to pay off, but it won’t matter, because I’ll be working with animals.”