Junior nursing major Brit Van Laeken used her parenting skills to help her during her internship to Dharamsala, India.

Van Laeken, a mother of two boys, had to leave her children for the four weeks.

“We used Skype a lot and texted back and forth,” she said.

She said it was difficult being far away, but she knew it was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“It was really hard at times, especially on days when I worked with children and their mothers were right there with them,” she said.

Van Laeken said her experience being a parent was one of her greatest assets.

“My job was to perform medical exams on rural village children, many of whom had never seen a doctor and were initially terrified of me,” she said. “While the training that comes along with being a nursing student was extremely useful, there were definitely times when my experience as a parent was equally as important.”

She performed medical exams on local children and villagers.

Her group, plus her translator, traveled to many rural villages where many dialects are spoken.

At one of the spots, Van Laeken said people piled in to be examined, and the line never ended.

“Some of these people, women mostly, spent miles trekking to get an exam,” Van Laeken said. “They have medical care, but it’s not that good.”

Van Laeken said she spent the day treating as many people as she could, but she couldn’t get to all of them.

“Eventually, I had to turn them away and deny them service,” she said. “It was really upsetting.”

Even with a translator there to explain why she couldn’t look at them, Van Laeken said it was difficult.

“There’s still a wall there, and I couldn’t tell them how sorry I was,” she said. “They spent hours trekking over the mountains to get service, and my ride was leaving. So some came to be turned away.”

During her time there, Van Laeken lived in a rural village in northern India near the Himalayas.

“There was an interesting mix of people living in extreme poverty, right next to mansions, with dirt roads shared by cows, motorcycles, monkeys and cars,” Van Laeken said.

She chose India because of the culture as well as possible experience, she said.

“I think I (had) a lot to give to India and a lot to absorb,” Van Laeken said.  “It’s rewarding work.”