Wallace is Valedictorian of Texas Tech’s First Vet Class

La Grange High School graduate Kayla Wallace is the first valedictorian of the new Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

Wallace and 60 others graduated in the inaugural class May 18 at the Amarillo Civic Center Auditorium.

She was featured on an article in the Amarillo Globe News.

Wallace in the story “recalled learning about the new veterinary school while still an undergraduate at Texas Tech in Lubbock. She read every news story she could find and visited Amarillo just to get a sense of what was being built.

“This is a surreal moment,” Wallace said. “We’ve made history together. We’re like siblings. We studied, laughed and worked through every challenge side by side.”

Wallace said her class embraced their role as founders — and made it count.

“We didn’t have a blueprint,” she said. “We became the blueprint. And that’s something I’ll carry into every exam room and every conversation with the next generation of students.”

Wallace graduated from La Grange High School in 2016. She graduated with her Bachelors from Texas Tech in 2020 and with her Masters from Texas Tech in 2021.

Kayla will be coming back to the area to work. She will be starting her career at Hallettsville Veterinary Hospital.

She is married to Neal Frerichs.