SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A local college student is spending the summer on campus, but not the campus you might expect.

Alex Brosnahan is a pre-med student at the University of North Dakota. The Roosevelt graduate says he’s always excelled at math and science and has a desire to help people.

“I thought about it and why not just try and be a doctor?” UND sophomore Alex Brosnahan said.

Alex wants to be a family doctor.

“Kind of really like the idea of having kid patients when they’re two and then watching them grow up through middle and high school and then watching them get married and then maybe even having their kids,” Brosnahan said.

Brosnahan is just beginning his journey in medicine and is volunteering his time this summer at Good Samaritan Society.

“It’s really been eye-opening to kind of see how this place operates so it can help better prepare me,” Brosnahan said.

Alex has spent the past four weeks working with doctors and nurses in a variety of departments, learning the ins and outs of the job.

“Kind of get a glimpse of what everybody does to make this place run and operate how well it does,” Brosnahan said.

“He’s really exploring what’s out there, what’s available,” Sanford Health Dr. Keri Orstad said.

Orstad is a family medicine doctor at Sanford Health and says the experience Alex is gaining is invaluable.

“A good understanding of how to work with your whole team and how to communicate with that team well because I think that’s something that is learned, it’s not innate, that communication is very important,” Dr. Orstad said.

“Schooling can only get you so far and so this is kind of my baby steps into actually seeing how medicine works,” Brosnahan said.

In addition to interning at Good Sam, Alex has a part-time job and even finds time to play some softball.