Animal Enthusiasts! WWC Has a New Major Just for You
Trinity Larsen | September 9, 2025
With the attraction of farm livestock and an established biology curriculum, it only made sense for Warren Wilson College (WWC) to combine the two and launch a new animal science major.
The animal sciences program is available to all, from those who love animals to those wishing to major in the program, to students who want to get dirty assisting the Farm Crew.
This major will allow students to work directly with animals in classroom labs. Classes will include not only biology or chemistry–core courses for any science majors–but also classes in livestock reproduction and anatomy & physiology that will be able to satisfy the animal science undergraduate degree.
“Broadly, [the animal science major] is training people that are interested in animal science in this nice, sustainable, regenerative farm setting, which is incredibly uncommon in industrial agriculture,” Dr. Liz Benavides, or Dr. B, assistant professor of animal science at WWC, said when asked her pitch for the program.
Living on the rural WWC campus provides the opportunity for students to get involved with livestock on the Farm Crew. Ivana Hernandes, a junior on the Farm Crew and an animal science major, spoke on how the animal science major, along with the crew, have positively shaped her perspective when working with animals.
“I have the actual farm experience of going and doing the hard, dirty work, and then in the class setting, it's more of the scientific and medical type [classes],” Hernandes said. “I really love how those two worlds are merging together. When you think of a production farm, my immediate thought is those chickens are all squeezed in those trucks, and the way that Warren Wilson treats their animals with humanity is very inspiring. I kind of hope to take what I learned here and hopefully go practice that out in the world.”
Pre-veterinary science is a course that many WWC science majors anticipate taking here on campus rather than going to another college.
Bella Abeles, a second-semester junior majoring in animal science and Owl’s Nest Crew member, hopes to work in zoo wildlife after gaining knowledge that the pre-vet track provides students.
“The fact that animal science has the opportunity to have pre-vet as a concentration is really great,” Abeles said. “Until this major came about, I was concerned that I would have to do my vet school prerequisites through a community college. Now that we have a visiting professor who's doing animal nutrition, I'm really grateful that those classes are available.”
Internships, no matter a student's major, are required of each WWC member. Dr. B, while “putting on [her] pre-vet advisor hat,” emphasized the importance of internships for students.
“Interning at vet clinics is number one in my head,” Benavides said. “Internships that I haven't seen that I would like to see are more competitive ones, like animal pharmaceutical corporations that make the drugs that we administer to the animals.”
Hernandes hopes to intern at Veterinary Emergency Group in Asheville, a service that allows owners to be with their pets during veterinary procedures. While a career in animal husbandry, as a veterinarian, or working on a farm are routes some students hope a WWC internship and faculty will help guide them down, others simply wish to expand their knowledge of the mammals around them.
“I want to see students that are excited about learning about livestock,” Benavides said. “I would encourage them to come talk to me or do some work on the farm crew.”
WWC’s animal science major offers a livestock-focused lens to the long-standing college’s biology and sustainable agriculture majors. In addition, the program offers students tools they can transfer to the next time they are learning from an animal, whether that be in an internship or with a pet.
