answers revealed Maastricht Imagine the cold wind cutting through your clothes, ice falling from the sky around you as you ascend the sharp peak that is Diamond Hill. It wasn’t hailing when Jessica Korona and her peers started out into Connemara National Park in Ireland; however, half way up the mountain, the hail began. The late November day went from pleasant and sunny to having an icy chill. Despite the challenge —or maybe because of it — Korona said “getting to the very top of the mountain felt like a huge accomplishment. The view was definitely worth it.” Korona climbed the Irish mountain during her time studying abroad as a part of the pre-med Baylor in Maastricht program, which “really helped people to decide whether medical school was the right path for them,” Korona said. Korona, a junior biology major, said she heard about the pre-med Maastricht program while she was visiting Baylor as a senior in high school. She decided to apply her freshman year, since she knew the trip was only offered every other fall. After being accepted, she spent the fall of her sophomore year in Maastricht with Baylor professors Lisa Baker and Troy Abell.
Q. What was your first impression of the university? It seemed very homey and welcoming. It took me a while to find my way around the university and to class, though. There was about a 20-minute walk to class.
Q. How did studying abroad help you with your academic goals? The classes all built off each other, so we learned things more quickly. The professors work together, so if one thing is taught in one class, we don’t have to re-learn it in another.
Q. Describe one or two of your most memorable experiences. Ireland. We went to a national park [and] climbed this mountain. It started hailing half way up, but it was so much fun. We had a little cottage there and we made Thanksgiving dinner. That and Prague. I want to go back to Prague so bad.
Q. How much traveling did you get to do outside your studies? I went to England, Portugal, Ireland, Prague, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Spain. We went traveling every weekend we were there except for two.
Q. Do you plan on going back? I would love to, but it is really hard to fit in with biology. I am going to Kenya over the summer. My goals are to go to medical school, and then do mission work with Doctors Without Borders. I want to be a trauma surgeon and work in Africa or maybe South America.