Hello! My name is Sayuri Padmanabhan and am a rising sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh. Still a little undecided but I plan to major in marketing and finance, minor in chemistry, and get a certificate in data analytics. Quite soon I’ll be on my way to South Korea and and am incredibly excited to study abroad and end my freshman year with an unforgettable experience! 

I was born in Pittsburgh and lived in Mars, PA for about 6 years. We then moved to the King of Prussia area which is about 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia. I have a younger sister who’s finishing up freshman year of high school and a mini goldendoodle who I often FaceTime and make fun of. I grew up having a passion for dance which I’ve continued to pursue on campus through a dance team. Photography has also been a small passion of mine and although I use to blog all my photos, I currently just take photos casually. 

My family is spontaneous and we love traveling even on short notice. Ask us what’s the most spontaneous travel we’ve done! We’ve traveled a lot within the country, to several other countries, and made multiple trips to India. My favorite place so far has been a tie between Zion National Park and Yosemite National Park, but I have a gut feeling that’s about to change to South Korea. 

South Korea, to me, has always been a place of astonishment since I first came across a song by BTS, a K-pop group, a few years ago. As a dancer, their moves and choreography caught my eye and I fell into the BTS bandwagon. But it’s amazing to see how a country that’s about the same size as Pennsylvania has 50 million people and shaped the world dramatically. From K-pop to being the home to Samsung, South Korea has advanced so far and it will be eye-opening to see this person. Their culture has also become mainstream, from their clothing styles, K-dramas, or even the foods like kimchi and bulgogi. Even though I don’t eat the red meats, I’m thrilled to taste as much as possible and come back home with my own recommendations on Korean food.

I hope to get as much out of this opportunity as possible. The theme of this trip is “smart systems” and while abroad, we are visiting multiple companies like Samsung and Hyundai, which will open our eyes to how technology is driving industries and the Korean economy. We’re also visiting two top universities in Korea and it will be interesting to compare Korean students’ college life to our own. But what I’m most looking forward to are the cultural visits like the Royal Palace visit, the Han River Cruise, and the DMZ. With the weather expected to be beautiful, these places will take us deeper into the history of Korea. And throughout this experience, I’m excited to learn about these smart systems and to be able to apply the knowledge, insight, and experience to my education and career at Pitt. Can’t wait!