Hello! My name is Chris Paladino, and I am a freshman in the Swanson School of Engineering here at the University of Pittsburgh. I was born and raised about 4 hours away in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where I live with my mom, dad, and younger brother. While growing up I was always involved in sports, which led me to two of my favorite ways to be active: basketball and volleyball. My other interests include art, reading books, learning cool stuff about history, and hanging out with friends.
At Pitt I am majoring in Industrial Engineering and I currently plan on pursuing a supply chain management certificate as well. I am a part of Pitt’s club volleyball team, which is an extremely fun and rewarding experience. In the future, I am interested in being a part of the Co-Op program within the engineering school, because I think it will be a great way to prepare myself for my future. Another experience I always wanted to have is to study abroad, because I think it is an efficient way to expand my perspective. That is why I applied for the Plus3 program, and I am very happy that I was accepted.
I love to travel, and thanks to my family having the same sentiments, I have had many opportunities to do so. I have been to France, Switzerland, and Italy, all of which I enjoyed due to my interest in art and history. However, when I was deciding on which Plus3 location to apply for, I wanted to do something different than Europe. So, I decided that South Korea would be an amazing place for me to see. I have never been to Asia, so this will be a completely new and exciting experience for me, since it is a completely different culture that I will have the opportunity to immerse myself in. Also, not only does South Korea have the modern cities of Seoul and Busan, it also has ancient cities that have been well preserved, like Gyeongju, that will appeal to my interest in history.
Along with experiencing the unique food, culture, and people of South Korea, I will also have a strong academic experience while I am there. The focus of the trip is “Smart Systems”, which is another reason Korea was a great choice for me. The topic lends itself to my major of Industrial Engineering extremely well, since both focus on efficiency and optimization. While in Korea, I will be able to experience the booming economy first-hand during the visits we will take to companies like Adidas, Samsung, Hyundai, etc. These visits, along with the visits we will take to Korean Universities, will be a beneficial experience that I think will make me a better academic and professional by expanding my perspective. I can not wait to leave in two weeks!