Month: September 2025

Finding My Direction at the DIAL Clinic

By Giovanni Szumik

Photo of six students and two professors smiling in a conference room seated around a table.

Internships can be life changing. My experience at the DIAL Clinic not only deepened my understanding of the law but also revealed how legal knowledge can connect to healthcare, education, and the human experience in powerful ways.

Throughout my internship, I realized that legal knowledge could spark meaningful change, whether on a global scale or close to home, by advocating for those who cannot always defend themselves.

I joined a group of 6 students who received the Ad Law-Med Summer Research Internship at Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law’s DIAL Clinic during the six-week program.

The exceptional program allowed me to gain practical experience in law while allowing exploration and authentic NSU student experiences. The internship experience solidified my dedication to studying law at the corporate law level.

Research That Changed My Perspective

The internship provided me with my most valuable experience through my work on the research paper titled: “The H-1B Visa in the U.S. Healthcare: Immigration, Policy, and Reform Impact.”

I studied how H-1B visa holders who are foreign-trained doctors, pharmacists, and medical researchers help address healthcare shortages in rural areas with limited access to medical services.

My research explored:

        • The growing need for immigrant healthcare staff.
        • Problems caused by visa lottery restrictions, extended green card delays, and rising visa expenses.
        • How legislation like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and similar laws create additional barriers for patients who need healthcare services.

I also examined how immigration challenges directly affect the cost of medical education, which creates significant barriers for U.S. medical students trying to pursue their studies.

This project revealed the powerful connections between law, healthcare, and education, revealing their fundamental relationships that are linked within one another.

A Moment of Pride

In my entire six weeks, one of the proudest moments was presenting my research findings in a 10-minute presentation at the end of the internship to a distinguished audience that included the Dean of NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Chad Perlyn, tens of law and medical professors, and medical school admissions officers. Initially intimidating due to the accomplished nature of the audience, I stepped up and did great.

I presented with clarity and confidence and proved to myself that I could maintain my presence before a room packed with experts. The experience became even dearer to me when a scientist in the audience, who was an H-1B visa holder himself, appreciated my presentation and asked some thoughtful questions. This acknowledgment reaffirmed the significance of the research I did and made me prouder of what I had achieved.

Communication skills will continue to become essential in living a life in the legal realm, or anything closer to adaptation for my professional and personal life.

Gratitude

I am deeply thankful to Professors Matthew Dietz, Liz Valentin, Melba Pearson, Jon Garon, Debra Moss Vollweiler, Michele Towbin Singer, Marilyn Uzdavines, Andrew Wellisch, Amanda Bertrand, and numerous other individuals who supported me through their guidance and constructive feedback.

I express my gratitude to Mrs. Barnes for enabling this opportunity, while thanking Dr. Levy and Ms. Ashley Brown from the NSU team, Kat Brubaker, and April Feeser, who served as amazing mentors, and lastly, my family, who supported me throughout my entire journey at the DIAL Clinic.

Looking Ahead

The internship experience exceeded my academic expectations because it revealed essential knowledge about my path to becoming a corporate lawyer. It created an overall bittersweet memory I will cherish forever.

The study of law extends beyond legal documents because it involves understanding how laws affect human beings, their communities, and the pursuit of fairness.

The DIAL Clinic experience revealed to me the true nature of law practice, and this encounter transformed my perspective about my professional future. If you are a college or high school student considering an internship or employment opportunity at the DIAL Clinic, I can’t recommend it enough. It is a life-changing experience I highly advise you shouldn’t miss.

Interning At NSU’s Disability Inclusion and Advocacy Law Clinic

By Francesco Donastor, Summer Research Intern

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the Disability Inclusion and Advocacy Law Clinic through Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law. As a rising senior at Stranahan High School, where I’m proudly enrolled in both the Law Magnet and the Medical Magnet programs, I came into this internship with a strong interest in healthcare but very little knowledge of the legal system.

By the end of the summer, I left not just informed but inspired. What started as curiosity has grown into a real passion for combining medicine and law in my future. This experience opened doors I didn’t even know existed, and it may have changed the course of my life.

Learning from the Best

My time at the clinic was guided by two amazing mentors: Professor Matthew Dietz and Professor F. Elizabeth Valentin. From day one, they created a supportive and motivating environment. They didn’t just give us lectures, they brought the law to life.

Every week, they invited professors and working attorneys to speak to us about real-life topics from criminal law, contracts, torts, entertainment law, and especially disability rights. These were not just lessons, these were conversations with experts who showed us how legal work impacts people in meaningful ways.

Each session felt like unlocking a new world. I learned that law isn’t just about rules, it’s about solving problems, standing up for people, and creating a fair system. As someone who has always focused on science and healthcare, this opened my eyes to how law affects every part of our lives, including the medical field I plan to enter.

My Research Journey: Disability and Effective Communication

One of the most meaningful parts of the internship was getting to write my own legal research paper with the guidance of Professor Andrew Wellisch. I had never written a legal paper before, but with his support, I was able to dive deep into a topic that matters: how patients with communication disabilities can be better supported in health care.

My paper was titled: “Disability & Effective Communication in a Health Care Environment: Legal Rights, Tools, and Resources.”

I focused on how Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and non-verbal patients are often denied effective communication during medical visits even though laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and ACA Section 1557 guarantee their rights.

For example, in Silva v. Baptist Health South Florida, Deaf patients were given broken video interpreter systems instead of the in-person ASL interpreters they requested. The court ruled that even though the patients received treatment, they were denied their legal right to understand and participate in their care.

Similarly, in Cook et al v. Banner Health in Arizona, patients were forced to use handwritten notes to discuss emergency procedures, something the courts said was not enough.

These stories showed me how important it is for hospitals to not only offer communication tools but to make sure they actually work and are used correctly. Legal protections only matter if they are followed.

My Proposal: AI for Better Medical Communication

Inspired by what I learned, I developed a new idea a hospital-based AI communication system that could help when interpreters are unavailable. This tool would use a camera and artificial intelligence to translate American Sign Language (ASL) into spoken words and then turn the doctor’s voice into text or signed responses.

Unlike other translation apps, this software would be built specifically for medical use, with help from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) community. It could support real-time communication during emergency situations, or in small clinics where ASL interpreters aren’t always available.

It wouldn’t replace human interpreters, especially for emotional or complex cases, but it could serve as a reliable backup tool to make sure that no patient is left out of the conversation.

Technology like this already exists for other areas of medicine. Why not use it to improve communication too?

A Shift in Perspective

Before this internship, I was completely focused on becoming a clinical pathologist. I love science, biology, and the medical field. Law was interesting to me, but I didn’t see how it fit into my goals.

But now, after spending this summer working at the clinic, I know I want to do more. I want to pursue a dual MD/JD degree so I can practice medicine and also work to make healthcare more inclusive and legally sound.

This internship taught me that I don’t have to choose between the two. I can care for patients and fight for their rights at the same time. I can be a doctor who understands the legal system and helps change it for the better.

General Experience 

This internship wasn’t just about studying or writing papers. I got to work with other interns who were just as passionate and curious. We asked hard questions, shared personal stories, and supported each other as we explored difficult topics.

We even had the chance to work through mock legal cases, where we had to think like attorneys and come up with real-world solutions. It was fun, challenging, and so rewarding.

The entire experience felt like a team effort and every person I met added to what made it so special.

Final Reflections and Gratitude

To any high school student, especially those in magnet programs like mine, if you ever get the chance to intern at the NSU Disability Inclusion Advocacy and Liability Clinic, take it. This experience was more than just a summer program. It was an opportunity to grow, to learn, and to discover a new path I hadn’t considered before.

I want to give a special thank you to:

      • Professor Matthew Dietz and Professor F. Elizabeth Valentin, for being patient, brilliant, and endlessly supportive mentors.
      • Professor Andrew Wellisch, for helping me grow as a researcher and guiding me through my first legal paper.
      • Dr. Ley and Dr. Rajput, for allowing me to take part in this one-of-a-kind opportunity.
      • Ashley Brown, for managing the entire program so smoothly and always being there to support us.

Because of all of you, I spent this summer not just learning but discovering a new side of law.

If I ever get the chance to do this internship again, I would say yes in a heartbeat.
It was eye-opening, empowering, and something I’ll never forget.

Thank you for helping me find a path where medicine and law can work together and where I can make a difference.