Rejected 6 times, mom of 3 earns doctorate from NC State vet school

Sharon Daley applied to the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine for the first time in 1999 but it took 20 years and six rejections before she got accepted into the prestigious program.

“My dream was always to be a veterinarian since I was 4 years old and saw that first veterinarian take care of my puppy. That’s what I wanted to do,” said Daley.

“It was really just my desire to help animals as much as I possibly could and help people,” she said.

Daley graduated from NC State in 1999 with a bachelors of science degree in zoology. She was 30 years old and remembers a heartbreaking meeting a few months prior to graduation:

“I met with the dean at the vet school at NC State, and he looked at my grades and said, ‘You are never going to be a vet’ and he said, ‘yYu need to find a new dream.’”

Daley got married and became a mom to three girls — now ages 17, 21 and 23. She said she always held onto hope that she would fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an animal doctor.

She applied a total of six times over 20 years with no luck.

“I would cry a lot, and then my kids were always there and I would pick myself up because I’m not going to let my kids see me get down like this,” said Daley.

After her seventh application in 2019, she received her acceptance news in-person from a longtime mentor at the college.

“He said, ‘Welcome to the club,’ and I about died because I wasn’t expecting it at all.

On May 5, after 33 years working in six animal hospitals, Daley walked across the graduation stage with her doctorate degree and officially became Dr. Sharon Daley.

This month, Daley started her first veterinarian position at Bunn Animal Hospital.

“[Daley] would come back here during her breaks and work with us. It was just meant to be,” said Dr. Geri Davidson, who has owned the pet hospital for four years.

“She’s just a very caring person, and it comes across with the animals, especially, but also with the owners,” Davidson said.

At 54 years old, Daley said she is proof that persistence pays off, and she encourages others to chase their dreams even when it’s hard, even if it takes longer than expected and even if someone says you can’t.

“My whole life I was told ‘you can’t do this’ and I just want everyone to know they can,” said Daley.

“If they have a desire in their heart and it’s something that’s going to be helpful to make the world a better place they need to go for it.”

NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine accepted 100 students out of 1,222 applicants in 2019 — about 8%. This year, the college accepted 116 students out of 2,028 applicants — about 6%.