Hi, my name is Derek Frappa and I am a Freshman Finance major attending the University of Pittsburgh.  Currently, I am also working towards minors in Italian and Economics, as well as a certificate in International Business.  I chose Finance at the University of Pittsburgh because I have always been interested in learning about how businesses operate in today’s economy, and the University of Pittsburgh’s undergraduate business program provided me with a great opportunity to do just that.  Outside of academics, I love sports, listening to music, and traveling.  I played soccer and hockey and like spending time outdoors.

I chose to participate in the Plus 3 Germany program because I want to learn more about how companies operate in foreign countries.  I have always been interested in cars and Plus 3 gave me the opportunity to learn about the automobile industry hands-on.  I hope Plus 3 will provide me with a unique experience to learn valuable information first-hand about the business practices used by  international companies and see different aspects of supply chain, finance, and engineering in the automobile industry.  This program will also give me a feel for what study abroad programs entail and will encourage me to do a full semester abroad in the near future.