Linfield life: Sarah Gaylord-Ratsimbazafy '09, Making a difference

Sarah Gaylord-Ratsimbazafy '09 isn't afraid to learn new skills.

During a surgical internship last summer in a Madagascar hospital she administered shots, helped stitch up wounds and even found herself working as a surgical intern, working side-by-side with the doctors.

Gaylord-Ratsimbazafy, a health sciences major on the Portland Campus, understands the need for health workers and health care education in developing nations. Her father is Malagasy, her mother is American and she has bridged both cultures. She's seen the poverty and lack of health care first-hand. She was raised in Madagascar until she was 15 and educated in Switzerland and the U.S.

Since the age of 13, she's completed five public health internships in Madagascar, focusing on issues such as nutrition, contraception and other topics to help improve health care throughout the nation.

Once she completes her degree in the spring, she will either pursue a master's in public health or a master's in physician assistant studies.

"A physician's assistant degree attracts me because I want to go to third world countries and help those individual who need good medical care and can't get it," she said. "But I really like educating people about health care, which is why public health attracts me. And last summer I learned I would probably make a good surgeon. I've got lots of options."

• Learn more about Linfield's Portland Campus
• Information the health sciences program.