Hello! My name is Danny Scallon and I am from King of Prussia, PA. I am a freshmen engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh with the intent in majoring in Bioengineering and minoring in Vietnamese and Mechanical Engineering. Once I graduate it is my dream to manufacture and research prosthetics. I was inspired to seek a career in biology from my parents who are molecular biologists themselves. I’m involved in the Biomedical Engineering Society here at Pitt and hope to become a board member in the upcoming years. When I’m not studying for engineering I enjoy spending time with my friends , playing basketball, going to the Pete, playing some video games, and maybe watching a movie when I get the chance. If you are ever trying to find me on campus, the best places to look are the second floor of Hillman, Benedum Hall (most likely Einsteins), or trying restaurants on Forbes because Market’s getting pretty boring. Being at Pitt has made me want to take advantage of what I’m given, and I’m very excited to experience all of Vietnam.

I chose Vietnam as my first choice for Plus3 for a few reasons. One of the biggest influences is the fact that my mom is from Vietnam. She lived there up until she was eleven when she fled the country with her family during the war. Since then she has never gone back and I feel like it makes sense for me to choose the location where my mom grew up because I have always wanted to see what it’s like. Plus, if I didn’t go to Vietnam now, who knows how long it would until I get another opportunity like this. Another reason I’m looking forward to this trip is because I took two semesters of Vietnamese this year. I chose Vietnamese as an elective because I am currently one of the few members of my mom’s family who does not speak the language. It is my goal one day to become fluent in Vietnamese so that I can communicate with my family easier. Also, it would just be really cool to be able to speak two languages. Going to Vietnam is a fun test to myself to see how well I can communicate with the locals. I want to see how well I can integrate myself into Vietnamese culture being half Vietnamese myself and being able to speak some of the language too.

The last reason I chose Vietnam is because of my interest in its globalization and development. Since the war, Vietnam has been seen as a third-world country and its economy has been in the gutter. But in recent decades, Vietnam has been experiencing a massive growth in development and globalization. I’m excited to go on our site visits and see how the companies utilize engineering practices in their day-to-day routine. I want to demonstrate my knowledge in engineering on a bigger scale, and going to international corporations is a great way to gain exposure.

As I’m currently writing this, I’m thrilled to think that two weeks from now, after these finals, I’ll be on the other side of the world. That’s something I’ve never got to experience before and will probably stick with me for the rest of my life. Just envisioning experiencing a whole different culture, practicing for my career as an engineer, and getting to bathe in the Asian heat makes me thrilled to be apart of this program.