Ethel Walker School
L-R: Dr. Barbara A. Kalvig; Dr. James Michael Shorter, Scholarship Donor; Jasmine Morris ’19; Linda Blick, President and Founding Trustee of Tails of Hope Foundation
The Tails of Hope Foundation is a New York-based non-profit dedicated to elevating the human-animal bond and advancing the fields of veterinary and human medicine through a comparative medicine approach focusing on eradicating cancer and other life-threatening diseases affecting companion animals, civilian and military working K9s, and people.
Jasmine knew early on in her life that she wanted to work with animals, and more specifically, to study to become a veterinarian. In 2013 she was introduced to the Tails of Hope Foundation and joined their Youth Ambassador K-9 Career Program (YAP-K9). This program, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, exposed her to many leadership opportunities and growth. One memorable opportunity was visiting the White House during the Obama Administration, and meeting with Michelle Obama’s team about the importance of funding and training for young adults in the animal service field.
During these middle school years, while she was part of the Hartford Youth Scholars (HYS) program – a program that assists highly motivated Hartford area students in middle school get to and through college – she did a research paper comparing public versus private high school systems, focusing on East Hartford High School and The Ethel Walker School. Through her research she fell in love with The Ethel Walker School, and with the aid of the HYS program and coupled with her hard work and determination, she was awarded a full scholarship to attend for high school.
During Jasmine’s high school years, she mentored Middle School students and also volunteered for the Horizons program throughout her years at Ethel Walker as a way to give back to her community. She continues to love working with children of all ages. During her senior year at Ethel Walker, she applied for and was awarded a scholarship to attend summer courses at Cornell University, where she studied Veterinary Science and research, further cementing her interest in Veterinary Science.
Today, she is currently working towards her degree in Animal Science, with a double minor in Therapeutic Horsemanship Education and Business Management and Marketing, at the University of Connecticut (UCONN), on a full scholarship. In her desire to lessen the stigma against mental health, in communities of color, while also sharing her love of animals with others, she applied for UCONN’s Idea Grant program. Jasmine has been awarded the funding to establish the Equine Therapy Program, a program she plans to implement during this year’s summer session at Horizons. This program will incorporate social-emotional learning and animal-assisted therapy practices to help Horizons students gain a deeper understanding of how to take care of their own social and physiological well-being. Jasmine will work with students to teach them about animal care and training exercises to help them gain hands-on experience working with animals.
Upon graduation, she plans to attend the University of Denver for the Equine Assisted Therapy and Clinical Engagement program and to apply for her MSW certification in Animal Assisted social work.
Her lifelong love of working with both children and animals is lighting the path of this trailblazing Walker’s alum! Hooray Sunray! Congratulations to Jasmine!
