Friends, Romans, Veterinarians: NC State Animal Science Trio in Italy

September 15, 2025 D'Lyn Ford 6-min. read

Pre-vet student from NC State observes a veterinarian performing surgery — NC State animal science student Katie Cortese observes a veterinary surgery at a clinic in Rome.

For a global perspective, a trio of aspiring veterinarians from NC State University traveled to Rome and Florence, Italy, over the summer to shadow vets and gain hands-on clinical skills.

Isabella Miccoli, a spring 2025 animal science graduate, and Katie Cortese and Elena Hill, current animal science students, immersed themselves in two-week stints with the Doctors in Italy Fellowship Program. Founded with human medicine in mind, the program expanded to include veterinary shadowing in 2022. Miccoli and Cortese were based in Rome, while Hill was in Florence.

Alla Famiglia (For the Family)

Miccoli, who earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science with a veterinary bioscience concentration in May, had both personal and professional reasons for applying to Doctors in Italy, an opportunity she heard about through her professors. Miccoli and Cortese, who hadn’t met previously, formed a Wolfpack of two in Rome.

Known as Bella to her Italian American family, Miccoli had always wanted to visit the country, especially following her grandfather’s passing.

“Having a group definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable going, and I felt like it was a really good way to honor my grandfather and to learn more about his culture and more about Italy and how their veterinary system works,” Miccoli said. Fluency in Italian wasn’t a requirement. Some veterinarians were bilingual and translators accompanied the group.

Katie Cortese visits the Coliseum in Rome, Italy — Aspiring veterinarians Katie Cortese, at left, and Bella Miccoli, both of NC State University, took in historic Roman sites such as the Coliseum in between hands-on clinical work during their two-week Doctors in Italy Animal Care Program.

Woman holding two dogs in front of a crate at an animal sanctuary — Bella Miccoli, who earned an animal science degree with a veterinary bioscience concentration from NC State in May, enjoyed working with a variety of domestic and wild animals at two animal rescues near Rome through the Doctors in Italy program.

Woman holding a goat — Following her experiences at Italian animal sanctuaries, Katie Cortese, an animal science major at NC State University, is thinking of pursuing a mixed animal veterinary practice that includes small ruminants like goats as well as dogs and cats.

During the two-week program, Miccoli and Cortese helped teams at two animal sanctuaries and observed emergency and exotic animal veterinarians at work.

On their first day at an animal sanctuary, a welcoming committee of 50 dogs greeted them. Over the course of two weeks, Miccoli, Cortese and team members from Colorado and Canada assisted with a menagerie of rescued domestic and wild animals at two locations, including sheep, livestock, cats, guinea pigs, mice, ravens, owls and meerkats. The group helped out with hands-on care such as bottle feeding, socializing animals, trimming hooves and applying antiparasite treatments.

Miccoli, who has two years of experience as a veterinary assistant with Animal Emergency Hospital and Urgent Care in Raleigh, where she often works with injured wildlife, enjoyed the variety. Before leaving Rome, she took time for a wildlife-spotting trip at a local park with one of her teammates.

“I was just amazed by the birds,” Miccoli said. “They had parakeets that were native there — I never would’ve thought there’d be parakeets in Italy. And just seeing all the different types of insects and animals that they had was really interesting to me. I think my goal as of right now would probably be to either go into some kind of wildlife veterinary or emergency care.”

Surgical Precision

Participants shadowed an exotic animal veterinarian and spent several afternoons at a 24-hour emergency veterinary clinic, where they observed removals of a thyroid gland and cancerous lymph nodes. The most unusual procedure was a Bulla osteotomy, where a hole was drilled into an animal’s ear to remove a growth that was causing balance issues and chronic ear infections.

“Definitely surgeries that I’ve never seen in the States, so I felt very lucky to be able to watch that for sure,” said Cortese, who plans to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in animal science in December.

Cortese grew up in an Italian American family with a mom who had majored in animal science. At age 10, she helped carry out rehabilitation work with a childhood pet that had suffered a spinal stroke, enabling it to walk again. Becoming a veterinarian has been her goal ever since.

“After having these experiences in Italy, I’m definitely leaning towards a mixed animal practice that includes small ruminants so that I’d work with dogs, cats, sheep and goats,” Cortese said.

In the evenings and on weekends, the group soaked up Roman culture. On a walk to dinner, they saw the famed Trevi Fountain, and they visited the Coliseum, the Pantheon and ancient Roman baths. For a culinary adventure, they took a pasta-making class.

“It’s kind of a life-changing opportunity to be able to immerse yourself in veterinary medicine, which is already a passion, and then be able to also experience the culture associated with that country,” Cortese said.

Shortly after coming home from Italy, she departed for a study abroad program offered through NC State, traveling to Newport, England, for a physiotherapy and behavioral therapy course at Harper Adams University.

A woman uses a stethoscope to examine a goat while a man holds the goat — NC State University animal science major Elena Hill says getting more hands-on experience with farm animals at Italian sanctuaries, including goats as well as horses, will help her decide on an area of practice as a veterinarian.

Elena Hill with arm around horse's head — Elena Hill conducted horse health examinations at an equine rescue near Florence through the Doctors in Italy Animal Care program.

Five women in front of Ponte Vecchio Bridge, a medieval stone arch in Florence, Italy — NC State University’s Elena Hill, second from left, poses in front of Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence, Italy, with fellow Doctors in Italy participants from El Salvador, Brazil and Mexico.

Florence and the Art of Horse Care

NC State senior Elena Hill, who was based in Florence with Doctors in Italy, worked with a horse protection group that cares for abused and geriatric horses during her first week. The animal science major learned about common equine diseases, vaccine protocols and how to carry out a basic checkup, including taking a horse’s temperature and using a stethoscope to listen to the heart, lungs and digestive tract.

While listening to the cecum, a digestive organ that she had only seen in a dissection lab, Hill had a memorable moment.

“The veterinarian told us, ‘Oh, it’ll sound like a toilet flush,’” Hill said. “I thought, there’s no way. And then I listened to it, and I was like, it does sound like a toilet flush if it’s working right! That was really interesting.”

In her second week, Hill moved to a rescue that took in a variety of farm animals. “That’s where we learned more about goats, sheep, pigs, roosters, chickens and pigeons, which were really cool.”

Those settings helped Hill, who has enjoyed showing dairy heifers at NC State’s Howling Cow Dairy Education Center, consider whether she’s most interested in a small animal, large animal or exotic species practice.

“I still don’t know exactly, which is why I wanted to get more experience with large animals right now,” said Hill, who has worked full time for two summers near the North Carolina coast at Havelock Animal Hospital, which treats mostly dogs and cats, along with the occasional rabbit or ferret.

In addition to her veterinary experiences in Florence, Hill enjoyed the city’s art and architectural treasures, including Ponte Vecchio Bridge, a medieval stone arch. It was the perfect backdrop for a photo of Hill and her fellow participants, who hailed from El Salvador, Brazil and Mexico.

‘In a Heartbeat’

The three North Carolinians said studying abroad complemented the hands-on experiences they had in NC State labs and research facilities. Activities such as judging teams, animal science clubs and the Veterinary Professions Advising Center or VetPAC helped the pre-vet students round out their resumes and increase the likelihood of acceptance into vet school.

For students who are considering applying for study abroad programs in veterinary science, the trio had one recommendation: Just apply.

“I would have done it again in a heartbeat,” Miccoli said.