I completed a 375-hour in-person internship at a leading teaching children's hospital in Paris, France. My internship was conducted entirely in French. I worked directly with children with autism, supporting therapeutic activities, facilitating a social skills group, transcribing clinical meetings for pedopsychiatrists, and helping manage the children's daily routines. I also wrote an 11,000-word thesis on social skills development as part of my study abroad program. This internship showed how immersive international clinical experience can bridge academic study and real-world healthcare, and how working across language and cultural barriers builds the kind of adaptability and compassion that no classroom can teach.
There is no doubt in my mind that this internship made me a bolder, stronger, and more compassionate person. Living abroad had an effect like rejection exposure therapy. I grew more confident and less sensitive to the 'no's along the way. One child, who rarely engaged with anyone, came right over when I suggested an activity. That moment said everything.
Genevieve Heal
Junior | UC Santa Barbara| France | Biopsychology