Hello everyone! My name is Sarah Snavely, and I’m a mechanical engineering student at the Swanson School of Engineering. At the University of Pittsburgh, I’m a member of Phi Sigma Rho, the Student Alumni Association, Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, Society of Women Engineers, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers. I also enjoy volunteering for Special Olympics Young Athletes, and I will be volunteering at the Carnegie Science Center this summer. Next year, I look forward to being a peer mentor for the University of Pittsburgh’s Honors College LLC.

I chose the Plus3 China because I think that China is a such a technological powerhouse, and I’m very interested to learn about cellphone manufacturing as well as Chinese industry. And I think that having study abroad experience will greatly help me in the future. Personally, I chose to go to Plus3 China because it’s been 18 years since I was last there. I think it’s time for me to go back and experience China as an adult.

I’ve been looking forward to going to China all semester, and I am hopeful that I will be able to go. I just finished my last final exam, and I am currently writing this in an airport while waiting for a flight to New York, so that I can go to the Chinese Consulate and apply for a visa in person. Because I was adopted from China as a baby, the Consulate has requested that appear in person with birth and adoption records as well as my Chinese passport. I am hesitant to get super excited for my Plus3 trip because it is still uncertain whether I will receive a tourist visa or not. Visiting the Consulate will definitely be a new experience; it’s slightly nerve-racking, but I am curious to see what happens.

Update: I am finishing up this blog post after having gone to the Chinese Consulate. They’ve accepted my papers and will be returning my belongings on Wednesday – hopefully I will be given a tourist visa.