Hi everyone! My name is Alyssa Barton and I am a student in the Swanson School of Engineering. I plan on pursuing chemical engineering and a certificate in nuclear engineering. I’m not sure what exactly I would like to do pertaining to nuclear engineering yet; I am intrigued to find out more about the field and possible career paths related to it. For chemical engineering, I find myself to be interested in the manufacturing and testing of plastics and the creating of the new polymers designed to form more sustainable plastics to help create a better alternative than the current plastics polluting the world. Hopefully through a Co-op experience, I will be able to decide what exactly in the field chemical engineering I would like to do for the rest of my career.  As of right now, I just wish to make the most of my college experience by being a part of the Society of Women Engineers and American Institute of Chemical Engineers, working a part-time job at the Milkshake Factory, and travelling to Vietnam with the Plus3 Program.

The Plus3 program allows students to study abroad for two weeks right after the spring semester ends. As a student in the Swanson School of Engineering, semester schedules are packed with classes and have limited wiggle room when it comes to switching up when you want to take a class so a two-week study abroad session in early summer is a perfect opportunity. When I came to Pitt, one of my goals to achieve before I graduated was to study abroad, whether it be for a year or a week, I just wanted to travel but learn as I was doing so I knew that Plus3 was my best option.

As I was browsing the options of countries that Plus3 visited, I found that I was interested in Costa Rica, Germany, and Vietnam. Then it came down to deciding which of these three places was the one I wanted to travel to most. The topic that caught my eye was globalization and development. Since it wasn’t a product and it was more of a process, I was intrigued to what the Vietnam trip had to offer. Not only would the Vietnam trip offer me the chance to learn about how the country has developed and continues to develop through business and engineering factors, visiting the country and having first-hand experience of an entirely different culture than what the U.S. has to offer.

Going on site visits and learning about foreign companies from the employees themselves will allow me to learn how closely business and engineering work together to form successful corporations. As an aspiring future engineer, I don’t comprehend much of how business and marketing work in the professional world so I believe this trip to Vietnam for business and engineering students provides the best way for me to make connections between the two and how they work harmoniously.

I can’t wait to finally begin the journey in 13 days!