Hi everyone! My name is Brett Saunders and I am a freshman industrial engineering student in the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. I grew up in northern New Jersey, about 20 minutes outside of New York City. As a drummer and football player throughout most of my life, my passions include music and sports. I am a huge classic rock fan with my favorite bands/artists including Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and Pink Floyd (yes, I’m stuck in the 1960’s-1970’s). I am also a Cincinnati Bengals fan, despite my decision to attend a school in Pittsburgh. However, I still love Pittsburgh sports and have gone to almost every Pitt basketball and football game that I could.
Before I decided on studying engineering, my plan was to study medicine with the goal of becoming an emergency room doctor. When I was 16, I became a fully licensed emergency medical technician and volunteered with my hometown throughout high school. Being an EMT taught me a lot about what I truly enjoyed doing. I was always assessing scenarios, trying to find out ways that we can treat patients more efficiently. While I enjoyed the hands-on aspect of being an EMT, my true interest was of how to improve our overall care to patients. This optimizing type of mindset steered me away from the medical field and led me to become an industrial engineer.
The Plus3 Germany trip involves going to various companies and learning about the automobile and manufacturing techniques used there. You also get to see the supply chain of the automobile industry through the various companies and how they contribute to it. As part of the trip, we also get to meet other students who attend the University of Augsburg. With these students, we will research a particular company in the automobile supply chain and present our research with them through both a bonding and learning experience.
As soon as I read the description for the Plus3 Germany trip, I knew that I wanted to go. It was the perfect opportunity to get real experience with supply chains, manufacturing processes, and gaining an abroad experience. Having the chance to gain industrial engineering experience while also being able to go outside the United States is an awesome opportunity. I am very excited to see Augsburg and how companies in Germany operate, especially since Germany is one of the best and most efficient manufacturing countries in the world.
Through the Plus3 Germany program, I hope to learn more about industrial engineering practices in the supply chain and manufacturing sectors. I am also very excited to experience new cultures and places. I have rarely traveled out of the country so this is a very exciting opportunity for me. I know my time in Germany will be an amazing experience that will not only benefit me academically, but culturally too!