Pets - from the point of view of veterinary technician, owner, breeder, and exhibitor
Medicine - she likes to turn complex into simple, and make things understandable to the layman
Survey Research - She enjoys putting surveys together with an eye to avoiding bias in the questions
Medicine, pets in general, travel, cooking, being a caregiver, reading, writing, technology
Sandi's husband and her boss worked as a tag-team to convince her to complete her degree. She had attended Florida State University from 1966 to 1968, married, and went to work, and with a career in Laboratory Animal Science, and a new, version 2.0 husband, had no interest in more learning. She finally relented as an act of self-defense, and enrolled in the Eckerd College Program for Experienced Learners (PEL), attending part-time, nights, and weekends. Every Eckerd PEL class required extensive writing, which she thoroughly enjoyed, much to her surprise. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA and a degree in Organizational Studies, and a newfound love for survey research and organizational change management.
Sandi spent 28 years working in medical-related fields, from veterinary technician to laboratory manager at a medical school. She retired in 2004, and for the next 10 years ran an internationally recognized annual symposium on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of viruses. Not herself a scientist or medical professional, she was responsible for all printed material, and became intimately familiar with the related medical terminology. Sandi's strong background in grammar and composition was a great asset when minor editing was needed, although that was not technically part of the job.
Sandi has had a lifelong love of animals, and currently lives with 3 dogs (Akitas), a cat, and a husband who often calls on her for help with his snakes, turtles, and tortoises! She was a Certified Veterinary Medical Technician for many years, holding a second, part-time job at an emergency veterinary clinic, and a third part-time job as a USDA Animal Welfare Inspector. These were in addition to her full-time job, but she was younger then, and had a lot of energy.
All that part-time work meant money that could be spent on showing her dogs, and feeding her horse, both of which are expensive propositions, and neither of which she is engaged in at the present time.
Over the years Sandi has written articles for newsletters and industry specific magazines related to laboratory animal science/medicine, breeding and showing dogs, and veterinary medicine. One article printed in "Contemporary Topics" led to her selection as the recipient of a travel award to attend a meeting in Warwick, England.
As a member of several organizations, Sandi has used her talent to develop brochures to educate others about the benefits of membership.