Texas nursing students return from life-changing internship in Africa

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two Texas nursing students have returned home after spending a summer on board a floating hospital ship in Madagascar, where they helped deliver life-changing care to patients.

Tom Strandwitz, a recent nursing graduate from Texas Christian University and an Austin native, and Valerie Moon, a senior at Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing, were among just five students nationwide selected for Mercy Ships’ first-ever nursing internship.

The students’ journey was made possible through community support. Community members in Austin and Dallas raised more than $11,000 through GoFundMe donations, covering the students’ travel costs to Madagascar.

How it started

Moon first heard about the internship through a faculty email, which encouraged nursing students to apply. “We had to basically write an essay as to why we wanted to become a nurse and share our background. I got a call a week later saying I got accepted,” Moon said.

For Strandwitz, the internship aligned with his interest in pursuing nontraditional nursing paths. “The dean of my nursing school also just happened to be my academic advisor, and I had talked to her previously about how I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to be a nurse in the hospital… she sort of flipped it to me and said, ‘hey, based on our conversations, this seems like something that would be really interesting to you.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m sold,'” Strandwitz said.

Life on board the Africa Mercy ship

Based in the port city of Toamasina, the Africa Mercy Ship offers free surgeries and medical care in regions with limited health care access. Moon explained that the students rotated through departments ranging from the operating room to the ship’s galley.

Different areas of expertise that we wouldn’t typically see here in the U.S.,” Moon said.

Strandwitz shared that their first week on board the ship offered a broad overview of how the ship operates.

“We talked to the director of the training program for all the medical professionals from the country where Mercy Ships is stationed. Part of their mission is a surgical aspect…We also talked to the director of the Hope Center, who does all of the appointment coordination for all the people who are coming from all over the country to have their surgeries, and then for the second week, that was when we had our actual rotations,” he said.

The students’ most impactful moments

Both students recalled powerful patient experiences that left lasting impressions. Strandwitz described a cataract surgery patient who broke into song moments after regaining his sight.

“There was a patient who, after having his cataracts removed and a new lens replaced in his eye, asked the surgeon if he could sing him a song. And so we all sat there and listened while the patient had his hand on the surgeon’s shoulder and was singing a song in Malagasy, it was really beautiful,” he said.

Moon said her most impactful experience was also from the eye clinic, involving a young boy and his mother.

“There was this patient, he was probably five or six, and his mom was there… She had a hard time trusting at first, and one of the volunteers was able to really, you know, sit with her and talk with her and convince her that, you know, her son needs a surgery. So I was able to see the after process of that and how thankful and grateful she was,” she said.

The students said the internship helped them bring home a new perspective on global health care.

“It underscored the importance of creating robust health systems that deal with the problems as early as they rise,” Strandwitz said.

How the community’s support made this experience possible

For the students, getting to Madagascar was no small trek. Mercy Ships covered the cost of housing and meals aboard the Africa Mercy, but students were responsible for raising money for international airfare and travel expenses. That’s where their local communities stepped in.

Family, friends, and even strangers donated through GoFundMe fundraisers, which together brought in more than $11,000. That money allowed Strandwitz and Moon to pay for their flights to Madagascar and back, along with travel insurance and other expenses tied to the two-week internship.

“The support that we got from our, you know, GoFundMe and our schools honestly meant so much. I mean, it’s just amazing to see how many people wanted to be a part of this journey with us, and whether it was donations or prayers or just encouragement, it showed us how powerful community actually can be,” Moon said.

After returning from their transformative internship abroad, both Texas nursing students said they wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again.

Moon, who is set to graduate in December 2025, plans to begin her career in an intensive care unit before rejoining Mercy Ships for more hands-on global health experience.

Strandwitz hopes to first work in public health, with aspirations to return to international healthcare, and possibly serve aboard the Mercy Ship once again.

For the students, the internship was more than just a summer abroad — it was a chance to live out their calling as future nurses. And they say they’ll carry the lessons, the patients, and the community that made it all possible with them for years to come.

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