UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine student, Zoe Fowler, spent six weeks in Cusco, Peru through the UTMB Global Student Experience. She worked in a basic science research lab, gaining hands-on bench experience that introduced her to microbiology and infectious disease topics that were new for her.
Zoe is enrolled in the Global Health and Bilingual health tracks in Spanish. While in Cusco, she took Spanish lessons three times a week for two hours and used the language daily, which strengthened her communication and confidence in clinical and lab settings.
She also observed how physicians she met often take on a broader scope of practice, including prevention guidance and chronic disease management, and learned that recent cholera cases were linked to sanitation. The experience reinforced her commitment to cultural humility and patient-centered care.
Zoe remains open on specialty choice. She plans to integrate global health into her career, build ongoing relationships with communities, and apply the flexibility she learned when schedules and plans changed.
