STCTC teacher Jessica Sharp-Miner shows her nine-year-old Ball Python, named Pazuzu, to students at Merriwether Middle School (MMS) who are taking the new “Exploration of Veterinary Science and Animal Care” class

The newest faculty member of the Strom Thurmond Career & Technology Center (STCTC) is barely three
months old and only just arrived on campus from Florida on August 8th. His name is “Chip”, and he likes
Pumpkin seeds.Chip is a beautiful Sun Conure (Aratinga solstitialis or Sun Parakeet), and right now, he’s
getting to know Edgefield County School District (ECSD) Superintendent Dr. Kevin O’Gorman by moving
around on his hand and accepting treats. Meanwhile, Chip’s immediate supervisor, STCTC teacher
Jessica Sharp-Miner, feigns a bit of jealousy at all the attention the superintendent is receiving. Sharp-
Miner, who is also new to ECSD, is teaching a brand new course at STCTC, Merriwether Middle School,
and Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton (J-E-T) Middle School for the 2025-26 school year entitled “Exploration
of Veterinary Science and Animal Care”. 
“I’m really excited about this class,” stated Dr. O’Gorman. “Mrs. Sharp-Miner brings a wealth of
knowledge, and this is definitely something unique we’re able to offer that other school districts and
schools in the state simply don’t have, and we’re lucky to have someone with her background and
experience here to do that.”
“I feel like this will be really fun and the kids are really excited about it,” added Sharp-Miner. “I’ve had so
much support from the school district, and I’m so excited. It’s just a great opportunity, you know? We’re
going to be able to give our students here something they’ve never really had the opportunity to have
before.”
A NEW CAREER PATHWAY
The course is only the first in a series of them planned for a new career pathway at STCTC into the field
of veterinary science, which is hoped will include future dual enrollment college courses and industry
certifications, so STCTC students and Strom Thurmond High School (STHS) graduates will be prepared to
exercise their choice from a position of strength. 
Future courses are expected to include introductions to veterinary science class and animal science, with
additional course work eventually leading to a veterinary technician certificate. 
Two things precipitated the new pathway. The opening of Edgefield County’s first-ever animal shelter
and a coming veterinary program scheduled to launch next year at Clemson University. Dr. O’Gorman
hopes the school district will be able to partner with them to help prepare STHS graduates for future
opportunities.
“We hope to create a nice partnership with the animal shelter, whatever that may be down the road,
and we want to create a direct pathway into the new program at Clemson University for our students,”
he stated. 
A SERIOUS (BUT FUN) NEW LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Sharp-Miner knows the new class will be a huge curiosity (as it should be) at first for students, but she
also wants them to understand the class and the new pathway will be so much more than just petting
cute animals.
“I’m sure some of them just want to play with puppies and kittens, and that’s fair, but when you get into
it, this is not an easy class, and it will take a level of responsibility to be in this class,” she commented. 
For example, any sort of rowdiness or carelessness around the animals is an absolute no-go for
students. 
“If you’re being unsafe around the animals, you cannot be in here,” says Sharp-Miner. 

Part of the advantage of having consistent access to the animals – which will include a stunning variety
of frogs, snakes, rabbits, birds, a skink, iguanas, tortoises, cats, dogs, lizards, geckos and more – is
students will be able to move beyond the curiosity phase with each species and transition to serious
study, all in a fun, caring, and light-hearted environment. 
“There’s a lot to learn, but we’re going to have so much fun,” she adds. 
FROM IDAHO TO SOUTH CAROLINA (AND BEYOND)
For Jessica Sharp-Miner, the outdoors and the creatures that live and thrive in it have always fascinated
her.“My childhood was filled with nature, camping, outdoor activities, and picking up wild snakes to
scare my mom with,” the Idaho native says with a laugh. “Obviously, animals, and especially reptiles, are
my greatest passion, and I have worked with almost every type of small animal you can imagine,
including baby alligators.”
She and her husband, Brian, share their home with an eclectic collection of small animals, including
three cats, two dogs, 13 snakes, and 11 other assorted reptiles. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys
hiking, horror movies, video games, and gardening. She breeds and sells pet snakes as a hobby and even
owns a two-headed snake named “Trick and Treat”.
As she continues to get her three classrooms organized and set up with the animals she will partner with
to teach her students, Sharp-Miner discusses the importance of algae and fungi to animals, corrects
misperceptions (some snakes are venomous, but NEVER poisonous) and adds interesting facts (African
royalty once used snakes as personal adornments, wardrobe selections, and status symbols), she can
barely contain the energy and excitement she has for the future. 
“I am so excited to bring my enthusiasm for animals into the classroom, and I hope to inspire a new
generation of animal lovers and supporters,” she says. “I am a big believer in hands-on education, which
is why I have so many animals in my classrooms. This program will be an amazing opportunity for
students to learn and interact with things that may never have been available to them before. This has
been such an amazing opportunity, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.”
Courtesy of ECSD Public Information