Meghan Cofer graduated from Great Bay Community College more than a decade ago, but the passage of time has dulled neither her enthusiasm for the college nor her desire to stay involved.
“I am a huge fan of Great Bay. The quality of education for financial investment required helps students to kick off their careers without a huge amount of debt or none at all.”
Cofer completed Great Bay’s veterinary technology program in 2011 and has remained in the field since. In her current leadership position as technician supervisor at Hampstead Animal Hospital, she works regularly with interns from Great Bay.
“I have found that the caliber of Great Bay interns who come through our hospital is just fantastic. The learning they are doing and the thoroughness of the teaching they are receiving in the classroom are top level. When they come see me for an internship, they have an amount of knowledge I am happy to see, one that has prepared them to perform well.”
As a student at Great Bay, Cofer interned at Manchester Animal Hospital in Hooksett. Her education, including an internship with a surgical rotation, prepared her not only for success in her career, but to thrive as a leader. “Now on the flip side looking back, it’s amazing how hands-on the Great Bay program was. It set me up for success to pass the national exam and get out there and start working at the hospital where I did my internship. I hit the ground running, and the Great Bay program allows you to do that.”
Great Bay was Cofer’s second college experience. She previously received a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. She was determined to get a job in resource conservation, but never found a job that matched what she was looking for. She ended up exploring marketing work at a software company to see if it was a good fit.
Restless and feeling the pull of passion, she decided to start exploring a career that would allow her to work with animals. “I have always been interested in animals and their care, so it made sense to work in veterinary medicine.”
When she began her search for a school, her first parameter was finding a program in New Hampshire. “Great Bay was the first school that came up, and my first reaction was, ‘This school looks amazing.’ The fact that I could graduate in two years was important to me. I wanted to get going.”
Cofer has barely stopped moving. In addition to her career as a vet tech, Cofer operates a voice-over business from her home in Chester. Her voiceover work began during her marketing career, when she was pulled in to narrate a video.
“That planted a seed, and when I was out on maternity leave with my second son in 2022, I decided to dive in.” She built a studio, began a business, and has been doing voiceover work in the two years since, working three days a week at the vet office and two days at home. The business is thriving, she said.
Hard work and dedication to your craft breeds success, she said, and she sees her success at Great Bay as the linchpin for everything that followed.
“I think because my Great Bay degree and technician supervisor role is so fulfilling, it has made me such a happy worker out in the field. Because of this it’s allowed me to take a risk in my personal life to branch out and form my own company. If I did not have a career that I loved so much, I would not have that door open for me.”
And without that open door, she might not have walked through.
