Hi, my name is John Cankar, but I go by Jake since there are four other Johns on the China trip. I am a freshman at Pitt and I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I am involved in Pitt FSAE and am a Young Life leader at Franklin Regional High School out in Murraysville, PA. Working with my fellow leaders we reach out and talk to high schools about God all while being involved with school activities and sports. I am from a town called Wheaton, Illinois in the suburbs just outside of Chicago. During the summer I lifeguard and manage at my local water-park. My job entails keeping guests and guards safe all while maintaining the facility and leading training exercises. Some hobbies of mine include Frisbee, fishing, and collecting vinyl records. During high school I was a part of the varsity swim team and was a captain my senior year. During the off-season I mostly swam but also liked to play ultimate Frisbee with my group of friends.

This summer I am traveling to China for two weeks and I couldn’t be more excited. I am looking forward to studying and getting an inside look of the ever-growing smartphone industry that has taken over China by storm. I am very excited to explore the cities of Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai and experience the Chinese culture. I love to explore new cities and I hope to learn a lot about the people, food, sights, and cities themselves while in China. I view myself as being adventurous so I can’t wait to try new foods such as Hot-Pot. I am also 6′ 6″ so I am not so excited for the flight but am excited to see how my height is perceived in a different society. Overall I am excited to see a place that I have never seen in my life and may never see again while also getting an in-depth look of the smartphone industry.

While I am excited about exploring China, I also hope to get a lot out of the trip. I personally hope to learn about a new culture that I do not know much about. I also hope to get to know some of my fellow students better and experience China with them. China is also very historically significant, so I am very anxious to see many historical sites. I want to use this class/trip as a way to improve my academics by giving me an opportunity to vary my education. Learning about technological advancements in the smartphone industry and the economic state of China while actually being there will allow me to reinforce what I learn. While learning about industries and companies in the US is important, learning about companies and the smartphone industry in the largest growing economy will be beneficial to my learning. With the current “trade-war” with China and various other news stories about dealing and working with China, I hope to get a glimpse of the other side of the news stories. The smartphone industry is huge in China and by visiting the companies themselves, I can form an opinion and become more knowledgeable about the current situation in one of the fastest growing economies. China is also very technologically advanced so being able to view the companies, factories, and their technological advancements will be exciting .