Ariana Mansouri has had a dream for two years of bringing a pre-veterinary club to Wichita State.

Her dream was realized Wednesday night when WSU’s Student Government Association passed a resolution to recognize the pre-veterinary club as a campus organization, something that has been in the works for several semesters.

Mansouri, a senior majoring in biology and the club’s founder and co-president, said the club was started in the spring as a temporary group. Its constitution was written at the time and it started to recruit members.

However, the group did not meet a deadline to be recognized as an official organization.

“We really had the interest, we had the drive and we had the people,” Mansouri said.

Mansouri said the club has three goals, which are:

• Invite different veterinarians and different specialists to speak with the club;

• Support Lifeline Animal Placement, a Wichita-based non-profit animal rescue and adoption kennel;

• Set up a foundation to reach out more in the community.

Mansouri said anyone is welcome to join the club, which has 13 members. The club is also not exclusive to only dog- and cat-lovers.

“We’re really diverse when it comes to animals,” Mansouri said.

Rubén Lebrón, the organization outreach chair for SGA, said he first heard of the club through Chas Thompson, coordinator of student organizations at WSU. He said he would like to see other clubs similar to the pre-veterinary club.

“The pre-veterinary club is focused on giving more networking opportunities for people interested in going to veterinary school,” he said.

Student Body President Joseph Shepard said the group is about applied learning, which he admires.

“This is a club that is setting themselves up for success in regards to their future,” Shepard said.

For Mansouri, the club being recognized officially as a campus organization means a lot not only for the club, but also personally.

“I proved to myself that with persistence and really great people, you can achieve whatever you want, so it’s a great thing to look back on once we’re officially recognized,” she said. “It’s just the first step-stone until veterinary school. It’s comforting to know that we’re able to achieve a great thing, especially at WSU.”