By Erika Fisher ’17, Staff Writer

Lebanon Valley College prides itself on its students undertaking high-impact experiences.

Ciara Marshall, a junior,  was able to undertake a unique opportunity for her summer – interning at the Miguel Servet Hospital in Zaragoza, Spain. Marshall spent three weeks at the program, run by the Atlantis Project, after learning about it at a presentation by the LVC Office of Global Education.

According to its website, the Atlantis Project is “an international shadowing internship for pre-med students. Successful applicants gain a perspective on global medicine.” Marshall spent three weeks shadowing surgeons in plastic surgery, maxillofacial surgery and otolaryngology – often times standing right in the operating theater with the surgeon during procedures.

Because undergraduate students are often not allowed in operating rooms in the United States, this internship provided Marshall with a chance she would not have had if she had not gone abroad. Marshall was able to examine whether a career in medicine was truly what she wanted.

“I was able to observe a man who had just been in a mechanical accident be treated for serious burns,” Marshall said of her experiences in the Miguel Servet Hospital. “The smell was unbelievable. I also observed a tumor removal from a brain and even the intricate excision of diseased tissue around some of the most delicate and small bones in the human body, the ear.”

Medical procedures were not the only adventure Marshall experienced. She also took in the sights and sounds of Spain.

“I was in Madrid when Real Madrid won the Champions Cup and all of Madrid stormed the teams fountain in the city, dancing and celebrating until the team arrived home at 6 a.m.,” Marshall said. “I went white water rafting down a beautiful Zaragozan river, flanked on both sides by towering cliffs. I even visited a winery that had been making wine for centuries and was able to walk along the vineyard.”

What Marshall came to appreciate most from her internship abroad was the fact that it convinced her of what she wants to do after she graduates.

“This internship hardened my resolve to become a doctor,” she said. “Going into the program I was torn between wanting to pursue a Ph.D. in science or staying on the medical tract to pursue my M.D. After Spain, there is no doubt in my mind that I was born to be a doctor, that I have what it takes to be a surgeon.”

Marshall has been able to learn from the faculty, and has advice for the freshmen of the class of 2020.

“You need to be passionate about the field of science,” Marshall said. “When you are trying to wrap your head around morality or memorize the parts of a frog, just remember your end goal and your love for the field. Once you get into a hospital environment, I promise you, you will never look back.”