Hallo! I’m Maya Roman, a first-year student at the Swanson School of Engineering, majoring in mechanical engineering. I’m from Richmond, Virginia, but I have come to  love Pittsburgh in my time here, and I can’t wait to visit Augsburg, Germany with the Plus 3 Study Abroad Program!

In Richmond I graduated from Maggie L Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, but despite the school’s focus most of my time spent there was with the robotics team, FRC Team 422: The Mech Tech Dragons. Through this intense program I cultivated my love for engineering, which set me on the path I’m on today!

Here I’m an officer for Pitt’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter and I’m a mentor for one of the engineering makerspaces, where I help students use machines like laser cutters and 3D printers. When I return from Augsburg, I’ll be interning with the school of engineering to lead design projects and to improve the school’s makerspaces.

But why Germany? In high school I took German for a few years, and knew I wanted to visit someday from the lessons on the country’s culture, so when I saw the Plus3 Program to Germany I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to apply. From the food to the architecture to the beautiful landscapes, I can’t wait to explore every aspect of German culture that I can in two short weeks!

Additionally, one reason I’m majoring in mechanical engineering is because it’s a broad enough discipline to allow me to apply it to a range of industries, but I want to narrow down which of those industries I’m interested in. Since mechanical engineering is heavily involved in the automobile industry, I’m using this program to learn more about the industry and see if it’s where I want to work. It’s a bonus that this program will focus on the business side of industry as well, which should help me become a more well-rounded engineer.

I can’t wait to learn a lot and make some memories in Deutschland!