The Potpourri Professor of the Year for 2025-2026 is Dr. Kaleigh MacQueen. She has been an associate professor of veterinary technology for six years and was recently appointed the interim department head of veterinary technology. MacQueen graduated from Louisiana State University for veterinary school and worked at a private practice for three years before joining the Northwestern State University staff.
MacQueen became a veterinarian because of her love for animals and medicine. “It’s kind of my two passions combined,” MacQueen said. “I ended up [at NSU] because I lived here and saw the job … I felt like I had kind of burned out of the day-to-day life of being a veterinarian. I thought about quitting and not being a [veterinarian] at all and going back to school … then I saw this job and was like, okay, let me see about maybe staying a veterinarian but going another avenue.”
In the veterinary technology department, MacQueen teaches a wide variety of classes, including parasitology, radiology, animal nutrition, pharmacology, diseases and surgery. “My favorite classes are parasitology, hands down,” MacQueen said. “I love parasites. I have this heart that has heartworms, which is a common parasite in dogs. So that’s like my pride.”
When it comes to teaching, MacQueen’s favorite part is being with her students and their patients. “I like being in class with the students and the animals, and interacting and playing with them,” MacQueen said.
Outside of class, MacQueen is the faculty advisor for the Vet Tech Club and part of the Pre-Professional School Advising Committee. “My favorite thing I do for the program is [that] I’m the faculty advisor for the Vet Tech Club,” MacQueen said. “That really helps me get to know the students better, and I really enjoy spending time with them. We do “Bathe the Dog” days and we usually go on at least one big trip a year. We go to zoos and aquariums, and we get to see behind-the-scenes stuff of hospitals.”
MacQueen’s favorite memory from being at NSU is the first graduation that she attended. “This was really special. I was able to see the students come in as freshmen and then graduate. And now I get to work with them. I work part-time as a veterinarian, usually over the summer. And now I get to work with them in clinics … I’ll go work at a clinic, and they’re there, being [veterinary technicians], living their best lives,” MacQueen said.
There’s one thing that MacQueen wants her students to leave her classroom knowing. “I want students to feel that animals do matter too, and that it’s really important to learn all you can so that you can be an advocate for them, because they can’t talk for themselves,” MacQueen said. “So sometimes you’re the only resource that animal might have.”
Congratulations to MacQueen for winning Potpourri Professor of the Year, a position voted on by students, showing the impact that MacQueen has left on her students throughout her time at NSU.
