Real-World Impact: Dickinson Students’ Healthcare Internships

Students gain hands-on experience, advancing medical and research careers through healthcare internships

At Dickinson, our students gain invaluable hands-on experience through a wide range of healthcare-related internships with leading hospitals, research institutions and medical centers. These immersive opportunities deepen their understanding of real-world medical and scientific practices, complement their academic studies and prepare them for careers in medicine, research and healthcare professions. Read on to learn about the diverse internship experiences our students have recently completed and how these transformative experiences have enriched their education and career paths.

Josie Angevine '27 (Neuroscience), University of Maryland Dental School and Medical Center/Shock Trauma Center

How did you land the internship? I obtained this internship through the career center at Dickinson. I attended an informational session to hear more about the internship.

What did you do day to day? Observe patient consults in the OMFS [department of oral and maxillofacial surgery], pediatrics and ortho clinics at the dental school. Observed in the trauma and regular OR [operating room] at the hospital and trauma centers. Attended private practice clinics twice a week to learn and hear more about owning an oral surgery and orthodontic practice.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? This internship has solidified my interest in the dental field and possibly in the surgery field. It has exposed me to the day-to-day routine as a resident and attending surgeon as well as owning a private practice. It has taught me the basic foundation and characteristics needed to go to dental school and through residency. Some of those include perseverance, hard work, teamwork and dedication.

This has been an eye-opening experience to what surgery really is. I plan to hopefully become a dental assistant in the future and apply what I learned to that job.

Kevin Casillas '28 (Chemistry), Seattle Children’s Pediatric Research Hospital, CAR-T Research Scientist Intern

How did you land the internship? I obtained this internship through Handshake.

What do you do day to day? My day begins at 8 a.m. with a review of a scientific paper that focuses on B7-H3 CAR-T cells. After my reading, I prepare my laboratory workspace for any scheduled experiments. In the afternoon, I analyze my experimental data in preparation for presenting my findings to my principal investigator and my team, where we review results and discuss a future direction.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? During this nine-week immersive research experience, I learned a great deal about immunology and laboratory techniques. I’m confident that the skills can be applied in any classroom, especially in being a teacher assistant for a biology course.

Samantha D'Asaro '26 (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Undergraduate Research Program Student

How did you land the internship? Online application through the REU program funded by the National Science Foundation.

What did you do day to day? I worked with a Ph.D. student to create an artificially modified gene using PCR, a DNA amplification technique, and ligation, a technique to glue DNA pieces together. Each day I cared for a human cell line and modified the DNA to make progress toward a full copy of a human gene.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? This internship has allowed me to refine the techniques I learned at Dickinson. It has made me more confident reading papers and designing experiments, essential skills for the higher-level courses at Dickinson and a future Ph.D. program.

Kina Jefferson '27 (Neuroscience), Seattle Children's Hospital, Non-clinal Research Intern

What did you do day to day? Checking in with my mentor to go over what part of the experiment we will conduct and discuss the significance of each step. Afterward there is free time to either see what other experiments are being conducted in lab or time to read future protocols/previous literature.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? It's provided me invaluable lab skills that I can use at Dickinson or during other programs.

Tips for students thinking about internships: There are going to be times when you feel like you don't belong or you "are not made for this," but that is not true. Science is full of ups and downs. Just remember that you will always being learning new information from everyone around you and that it's OK to not know sometimes and to just sit and listen!

Doretta McCully '26 (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR), Research Intern

How did you land the internship? During the winter of 2024, I spent part of my break identifying professors at medical schools across the country whose research profiles aligned with my interests. I cold emailed approximately 30 faculty members, and Dr. Lynn Kirby responded within 30 minutes. I was thrilled to accept a neuroscience research intern position on Dr. Kirby’s team.

What did you do day to day? I conducted an independent project exploring how stress affects serotonin pathways, using a rat model. I carried out behavioral experiments to induce stress on my own cohort of rats. Additionally, I contributed to lab-wide projects by analyzing behavioral audio recordings using MATLAB and had the opportunity to observe advanced surgical procedures on other rats in the lab.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? It exposed me to the kind of collaborative, interdisciplinary work that defines modern medicine. I gained hands-on experience with new techniques in animal models and learned how to ask more meaningful scientific questions, engage with translational research that connects laboratory work to clinical care and communicate more confidently with professionals in the field. This experience is built on the strong academic foundation I’ve developed at Dickinson and has expanded my perspective on what’s possible after graduation. I’m excited to return to campus with new knowledge and energy, and I look forward to integrating what I’ve learned as I prepare for the next steps in my medical journey.

Noah Morginstin '28 (Chemistry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital

What did you do day to day? My internship is in the out-patient oncology unit of the hospital. Once our morning huddle is over, the pharmacy unit goes to the office, and I present about an oncology drug for that day. I have a running slideshow to document every drug I present about, focusing on the mechanism of action, the side effects, very general metabolism, drugs taken with it and general prescribing information. The head pharmacist gives me insight on its practical use and questions me to make sure I understand the drug to the level at which I should. I also sit in on Tumor Board and listen to doctors discuss patients and how they go about treatments based on different scans and test results.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? I feel like I have a better grasp on how the things I am learning in the classroom apply to the real world, and this internship has reaffirmed that I want to be in medicine post-Dickinson.

Celine Phan '27 (Psychology, Quantitative Economics), Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety (ATSA), Psych Intern

How did you apply? I found out about the internship through a post about summer opportunities in psychology on Instagram. Curious to learn more, I reached out to an alumni intern of that company. Their insight was so helpful and encouraging, and from there, I decided to apply through Handshake on my own!

What did you do day to day? Our clinic is preparing for our summer camp called Adventure Camp, where we urge our campers (clients with selective mutism) to "use their brave" [a therapy strategy to help children with mutism progress through small, incremental steps], so most of the day I'll deal with paperwork to prepare for the camp. Besides that, I usually participate in therapy sessions as a confederate to ... practice my special training for treating selective mutism.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? It’s given me hands-on experience in a clinical setting, which has helped me figure out if this environment aligns with my interests. More importantly, it’s also helped me better understand what I need to prepare for graduate school—from skills to expectations. On top of that, I’ve had the opportunity to build meaningful connections, not just with Dickinson alumni but also with professionals in the broader clinical field. This has really expanded my network and perspective as I think ahead to life after Dickinson.

Anna Purvis '26 (Biology, Chinese), Dana Farber Cancer Institute: Cancer, Immunology, and Virology, Undergraduate Research Intern

What did you do day to day? I love this job because every day I come in and do something different. Yes, I have regular things like animal care, genotyping and cell culture, but I get to learn and use skills like flow cytometry, ELISA [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay], various procedures like IV injections and so much more.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? I came out of this summer with the skill set of a lab tech. I learned so much technique in such a fast-paced environment, and it will be a big advantage when applying to grad programs in the field.

Tips for students thinking about internships: You're going to get a lot of unpaid offers, and even more rejections—that's not a reflection of who you are. If you keep looking you will find the right people!

Felix Zehe '26 (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Chinese), University of Nebraska Medical Center/Children's Nebraska, Summer Undergraduate Research Student

What did you do day to day? I usually attended rounds with the critical care physician in the morning, and then I would go to my office space and work on my research project, which primarily focused on analyzing mechanical ventilation patient chart information and other PICU [pediatric intensive care unit] data. I would also attend meetings, such as the PICU journal clubs, Children's Nebraska Grand Rounds and lectures for medical students/residents when they were occurring.

How did the internship enhance your Dickinson education? I believe that this internship has helped me refine my ability to read scientific papers, a skill essential for all scientists and one that I already had a solid foundation in, thanks to Professor Olivia Harper Wilkins’s Astrochemistry course. Additionally, I had the opportunity to make some amazing connections within the medical field and further solidify my understanding of medical terminology, which will hopefully aid me on my journey to becoming a physician.

Check out more internship news and learn more about Dickinson's Center for Career Development.

TAKE THE NEXT STEPS

Published September 30, 2025