Nonahood News: What is your job?
Erica Irish: I’m a small animal veterinarian at NewDay. I’ve been in the field for almost 18 years where I started out as a veterinary technician for several years

NHN: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

EI: I get so much energy from connecting with people and their pets and creating a really strong relationship with them. I’m so excited and honored to have their pets come to me. And I’m honored to do that, so that’s really exciting. And, here at the Lake Nona NewDay facility, I get to see the dogs playing in the splash pad and the pool. It’s nice to be able to just walk around and go watch these dogs and cats have a really good time. 

NHN: What got you interested in doing your job?

EI: When I was graduating from high school, the counselor asked me where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to major in. I initially said I didn’t know, but I liked animals, so they suggested I be a veterinarian. I wasn’t one of those kids who knew they wanted to be a doctor by the age of six. No, there were so many things I wanted to be, but medicine was always really interesting. Then I started getting work as a veterinary technician around 2005/2006. I realized this is definitely what I want to do because I can help people, I can help pets, and it’s medicine, which is fascinating. Coming to NewDay, I was looking to leave the private practice that I was at last year, so I turned to a social media group to see what places were hiring across Central Florida, and I got invited to check out NewDay. Once I visited, I fell in love with the facility and the people. 

NHN: Do you have any interesting hobbies, collections or interests?

EI: I love being kind of close to the Space Coast and the Kennedy Space Center. I still need to see a rocket launch in person. I have not done that yet! Otherwise, I love cooking. Baking especially. I love to bring treats to my coworkers. I read lots of books and still have a ton of books I need to get through. I’m a mom of two. I just had my second baby a few weeks ago. I love being a mom and I love being a mom to fur babies, too. I have five cats and two dogs. The dogs are Labrador Retrievers; I’m absolutely crazy about any kind of retriever. 

NHN: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

EI: Most likely still here in Central Florida. It’s really a nice place to be, to raise a family, and close to lots of fun things to do besides the theme parks. Maybe doing some kind of leadership and mentoring role? I love the idea of new graduates coming and being able to help them become the veterinarians that they’re going to be. I think being patient with people, telling them they’re doing a good job, and building people up is huge. I think this is going to be the biggest way we can avoid a lot of the burnout that people feel in veterinary medicine.

NHN: How do you maintain work/life balance?

EI: A lot of people say, “Oh my gosh, I couldn’t be a doctor and a mom and doing all this other stuff,” and honestly, I don’t know how I do it, either. Every day is different. I try to stay in the moment and be very situationally aware of what’s going on around me so that I can gauge people’s feelings on things without dwelling on anything that’s negative. I try to put a positive spin on things, and I find that when I interpret things that way, I’m not taking home as much baggage. Then, at the end of the day, I can take off my doctor hat and I can be a mom, I can be a wife, and not be super stressed about work. I look forward to going to work because of this strategy.

NHN: What is your favorite thing about Lake Nona?

EI: I like how it’s being built up, but there’s still space to breathe. It’s a beautiful area and everywhere you go or drive to is aesthetically pleasing. There are a lot of families in this area, too, and a lot of the clients that we’ll see are either young professionals or adults and their kids. Lake Nona has a bit of a unique dynamic, but at the same time you know people who really care about their pets and are bringing them in and taking good care of them. So, it’s a really wonderful place.