Eugenio Mannucci is no ordinary OSU Vet student. As a native of Italy, Eugenio has had quite a challenge coming to the U.S. and pursuing a career in veterinary medicine.
Eugenio grew up as the son of a military man, resulting in numerous moves as a child; however, he spent most of his middle and high school days in Viterbo, a mid-size town just a few hours north of Rome. . During this time of his life, Eugenio had no idea what he wanted to do when he “grew up”, but spent most of his time playing basketball, and eventually switched gears toward the throwing events in track and field. He found that he had an incredible talent and went on to represent the Italian Army with his shot-put skills.
Living on base made it extremely difficult for Eugenio to pursue higher education. He struggled through an hour and a half commute, which required him to take two separate subways, then walk an additional twenty minutes to get to the University in Rome. Eventually, the trek became too much of a burden, leading Eugenio to look into his other options for an education. After talking to a friend, he considered applying to some schools in the United States and heard back from University of Idaho’s track team. He was offered a sizeable scholarship, and then proceeded to pack only one suitcase full of clothes to move to remote Moscow, Idaho.
Eugenio spent his first two months in Idaho taking an ESL class in order to pass the TOEFL English-language test. During this time, he was not considered part of the U of I track team, but was able to train for his upcoming season, due to the generosity of his coaches, who he is still in contact with today. Each day, both of his coaches stayed after regular shot-put practice to work with Eugenio and ensure that he wouldn’t fall behind. Once Eugenio passed his exam, he became a full-time student athlete pursuing a major in biology and animal science. He went on to compete at the national track and field championships and placed 15th in the nation in 2011.
At University of Idaho, Eugenio discovered his passion for large animal science. He has loved horses since riding them as a child, and learning about them in school stimulated his interest in veterinary medicine.
Eugenio is now a third year vet student and dreams to one day run his own large animal clinic. He says that he loves the OSU vet program because of the “hands on experience and small class sizes”. He lives in Corvallis with his wife and 2-year-old son Max, and couldn’t be happier with where life has brought him.
— Posted by Josey Sechrist, CVM Social Media Assistant
