My name is Spencer Sullivan and I am an upcoming sophomore computer engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh.  I grew up about a half hour east of Pittsburgh and went to Penn-Trafford High School.  There I played three years of varsity ice hockey and worked at my family’s business.  After coming to the University of Pittsburgh I became interested in Plus 3 Italy.  I have always wanted to go to Italy and while I think I am the only computer engineering student on this trip, I am hoping to gain cross-discipline knowledge from the industrial engineering chaperones. I chose Plus 3 Italy because it had everything I needed in a study abroad.  I have options to fulfill a technical elective, travel to an amazing country and learn new things about manufacturing. The best part is that it is only two weeks. This summer I will be interning with a company located in Monroeville, PA called Premeir Automation.  This company works to produce automation controls for factories and manufacturing facilities. Providence would have it that I got placed on the industrial engineering Plus 3 and have this internship in the summer.  Hopefully they will relate somehow.

I have been excited to go on this trip since February.  Although, I am nervous because it is a foreign country with many challenges that need to be overcome. The biggest challenge that I will encounter is clothes.  Milan is the fashion capital of the world.  I have lived in Pittsburgh, which probably farthest from the fashion capital of the world.  That being said: I know nothing about fashion, style or clothing design. Hopefully Italians are patient.  My next challenge that I am going to face is the language barrier.  I do not know a wink of Italian and I am hoping that I can pick some up quickly once I arrive.  One thing that will not be a challenge for me is food. Italy is famous for its amazing food from pasta to gelato and wine. In America, I love ice cream.  It is probably my favorite treat. In Italy I can’t wait to try to the gelato.