I would like to thank Thomas Angelo Honors Scholarships for providing me with a scholarship to assist my participation on the Plus 3 Vietnam program. Your generous donation allowed me to have the opportunity to learn and experience so many new things. I was able to travel with my peers in the College of Business Administration and fully immerse myself in the culture of a country that I previously never thought about visiting. I had the chance to work face to face with Vietnamese students my age, in similar majors, and see what life in college is like for them and how they approach and deal with many of the same challenges of college life we deal with in the United States.  The site visits provided so much information about the rapidly growing economy of Vietnam and made me think about companies I would be interested in working for if I was currently a student in Vietnam. But my favorite part about my time abroad were the day trips to places like the Cu Chi Tunnels and Vung Tao beach. Those were great outside the classroom opportunities to learn more about Vietnamese culture and have the chance to leave Ho Chi Minh City and experience the rest of the country.

Throughout the program I not only learned about the various globalization efforts throughout the country, but all of the other things that go into such projects. For example, some companies have a difficult time working alongside a communist government in Vietnam as well as developing swampy areas prone to environmental issues such as flooding. Also, many people in Vietnam are opposed to some development projects because even though they vastly improve the infrastructure in the country, they feel as if it does not reflect the country’s culture and is too similar to other countries.

In the rest of my time at Pitt Business I plan to graduate with a double major in Finance and Accounting as well as a certificate in International Business. I am also hoping to have the chance to spend more time abroad and am currently looking into the GBI program in London for next summer.

Overall, I am so grateful to have received this scholarship since it assisted me with my ability to participate in the trip, and I hope I have the opportunity to spend more time learning and growing  abroad during my next few years at the University of Pittsburgh.