They've always pushed me and believed in me
How our new director was supported to achieve her potential
Hi, I’m Mel Byford, and in April 2026 I became a director at Drove Vets.
I’ve been part of the team since 2014 and couldn’t speak highly enough about the support I’ve had since I joined.
Throughout my journey from a young vet, to studying for a certificate, taking on leadership responsibility and now a directorship, I’ve been very aware of how lucky I am to be part of such a fantastic practice.
The directorship wasn’t something I had planned – I was approached about it just before going on maternity leave, so it wasn’t on my mind at all.
But we started conversations then, and they’ve always pushed me and believed in me.
Drove is such a supportive place to work. We take on both newly qualified and experienced vets, and there’s a strong support structure.
There are leadership figures you can go to, a good mentoring programme and regular meetings where people can share concerns rather than letting things build up.
If you’re a vet, nurse or support team member, I couldn’t recommend Drove highly enough for the next step in your career.
Check out our vacancies here, or get in touch with the team here for an informal chat.
Or read on below to find out more about my journey!
I put all my eggs in one basket – thankfully it paid off!
I remember going to the vets with my mum and our family cats. They would go in sick and come out fixed, and I just thought it was amazing.
As you grow up you realise it’s an actual job you can do. I never had a Plan B, so I’m lucky it all worked out because I had no backup career in mind.
When I sat down with a careers advisor at 15, I told them I loved animals and they suggested things like zookeeper, but no-one suggested becoming a vet!
No one in my immediate family had been to uni either, so I probably didn’t make the best decisions early on – but I got there in the end.
I didn’t do A Levels. I did a BTEC in animal husbandry and animal handling, which isn’t the usual route into vet school. At the time it was such a practical course and really appealed to me. Before uni I’d already been to dairy farms, pig farms, grooming studios and small animal practices, so I got a lot of hands-on experience.
When I went to uni, I had to do an extra year to bridge the gap on the science side. It wasn’t the typical path, but I was really immersed in working with animals.
After uni I moved to Swindon and joined the Eastcott graduate training programme. I’m originally from Portsmouth, but a friend of mine worked there and told me they were looking for newly qualified vets.
I stayed at Eastcott for a year before joining Drove in 2014. By then I’d settled in Swindon and made friends, and then I found the right practice too. And I’ve never left!
How Drove support development and becoming a leader
I was so lucky to join Drove when I did, because it’s a fantastic place to learn and grow. We’ve always been keen to fund CPD and help people to develop their interests.
After a couple of years I did a medicine certificate because I realised I preferred medical cases over surgical ones. My certificate was expensive and took a couple of years, and that was fully funded. We really encourage learning and finding your niche.
When leadership roles opened up, new positions were created to stoke development and to pass on some responsibility – and at this point I became lead ward vet.
Leadership wasn’t really on my radar – but it meant becoming an extra point of contact for the team and taking on more leadership without being responsible for the biggest decisions.
It’s a great example of how the team here pushed me to develop and believed in me. I was funded through management and leadership courses, because it was a whole new aspect to the job.
Looking back, I think I had already started becoming a point of contact for younger vets. Taking on the role just formalised that.
I’m really excited to step up in my new role. It’s a big new challenge and I’m looking forward to the non-clinical side, getting into the business aspects and supporting the team.
There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that you don’t always appreciate until you’re involved. I’d like to be approachable and offer another point of support for the team.
I’ve worked the job and understand the challenges, so I think I can support people in a practical way. I want to pay forward all of the time and support that has been given to me over the years, to help the next generation of veterinary professionals to achieve their goals at Drove Vets!
Join us
Check out our vacancies here, or get in touch with the team here for an informal chat.
