Liat Rozmaryn went from interning at Frederick Health Hospital’s pediatric emergency room to working on the ground in Israel as an EMT.

It’s been a winding road of uncertainties, between arriving in the country a month before Oct. 7, 2023, deciding between colleges and being turned away from the IDF.

The 21-year-old recently completed her second year of national service, the latter year as an EMT with Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service. Though the past three years haven’t exactly gone to plan, Rozmaryn is confident she’s on the right path.

The Silver Spring native grew up attending Kemp Mill Synagogue and Berman Hebrew Academy. It was her upbringing in the Modern Orthodox community that led to her decision to serve Israel after high school.

“I grew up in a very Jewish, Israel-loving community,” Rozmaryn said.

So it wasn’t a surprise when the 2023 graduate chose to take a gap year there: “I came with the intent of doing a service to Israel.”

How she would do so was unclear. Rozmaryn knew she wanted to attend seminary — “That was a given,” she said. While in Israel, she applied to two colleges in the U.S. and committed to Binghamton University in New York for the following year.

“I think I want[ed] to make aliyah, but it wasn’t set in stone, and I want[ed] to have a good plan for when I came back [to the United States],” Rozmaryn said.

A month into her gap year, Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,100 people.

“My whole mindset shifted, and I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not living here,’” Rozmaryn said. “So I called Binghamton, said, ‘I’m not coming,’ got in touch with Nefesh B’Nefesh and started the aliyah process while I was in seminary.”

She attempted to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces.

“I liked the adrenaline and I liked the medicine and … obviously, I was like, ‘I’m gonna join the army’ because that’s what everyone [does] — you come to Israel; you join the army,” Rozmaryn said.

But her peanut allergy prevented her from realizing her dream of serving as a combat medic. Officials told Rozmaryn she could be an on-base doctor without being able to live on base. They also offered her a desk job, as Israelis with a 45 medical profile are not permitted for positions requiring physically or mentally demanding training.

“A lot of things were just not playing out because of this allergy,” Rozmaryn said. “I know myself, and I need to use my hands. I can’t sit at a desk.”

So instead of the IDF, Rozmaryn searched for options in Israel’s medical field.

She discovered opportunities through Magen David Adom while spending a summer at home. Even though she “really wanted to” register then, Rozmaryn couldn’t because she was in Kemp Mill and the in-person MDA course had already begun.

She spent her first year of Sherut Leumi — national service in Israel — volunteering at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, and her second year as an EMT, riding through the streets of Israel in an ambulance and responding to civilian calls.

“Every day was just incredible,” Rozmaryn said of the experience. “I had to wake up very early in the morning. I was very tired, but it was not hard for me to get up and go to work.”

She helped respond to a car accident, medical emergencies and other calls for assistance, even visiting a neighborhood in Herzliya that had been impacted by Israel’s war with Iran. The car accident was particularly memorable for Rozmaryn.

“I got to be really hands-on and help,” she said. “After the car crash victim survived, … I went back to that same hospital and … he thanked me. I felt very good in the way I was able to help physically, emotionally.”

Rozmaryn first felt that adrenaline and ability to help others during an internship at Frederick Health Hospital — Berman Hebrew Academy requires 12th graders to complete a four-week professional internship at the end of the school year.

“I fell in love,” Rozmaryn said. “I was doing 12-hour shifts and it didn’t feel like 12 hours. I was having the best time.”

She assisted the nurses and young patients and saw the pediatric ER in action.

“The more I was there, the more I got interested in the field and realized that I loved what I was doing,” she said.

Rozmaryn completed her two years of Sherut Leumi on Aug. 31, but she’s not done volunteering.

“I’ll get in touch with whoever’s in charge of volunteering because I want to continue to volunteer, not as national service, but just as a volunteer,” she said. “I’m not ready to let go just yet.”

These days, Rozmaryn is preoccupied with studying for a MDA program where she would earn a degree in both nursing and paramedics.

She said she feels that the past year as an EMT has exposed her to many eye-opening situations, making her more mature than had she sat in a classroom as an American college student.

“Even though I didn’t see it at first — I was very confused and upset that I couldn’t join the army — this was definitely the right path for me,” Rozmaryn said. “It helped me grow and mature and realize what I wanted to do with my life, that I loved being on ambulances and [will] hopefully continue with that.”

zbell@midatlanticmedia.com