Hi everyone! My name is Sam Richardson, and I am a BIS/Psychology major with a minor in economics. I am from Arlington, Virginia, about 10 minutes outside of D.C. On-campus, I am the Executive Vice President of the Sports Business Association, the VP of Member Development for Sigma Phi Epsilon, a Pitt Pathfinder, and a student manager for the women’s basketball team here at Pitt.I love learning and challenging myself, and that’s why exploring different countries has such an appeal to me. This summer I will be going on both the Plus3: Ireland and GBI: Florence programs, with the help from the scholarship I received from being a manager. I love sports, and my dream is to be a head basketball coach, but I also have a passion for computer and database engineering.

I do not quite know exactly what I want to do, but I love maximizing other’s strengths. Motivation and the workplace environment are both fascinating topics, and far too many businesses to count struggle with actually motivating workers to succeed. During my time as a sales intern for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last summer, I was able to gauge customers and really hear feedback on certain business practices. Helping people out and solving problems lie at the core of my passions, and I am just not quite sure how to realize that into the working world just yet. In the meantime, I am exploring new things at Pitt and enjoying life!

The summer before my first year here, I was supposed to visit Dublin as a part of the Haller Global Honors Fellowship. Due to obvious circumstances, it was converted to a virtual format, and my trip to Dublin would have to wait. When I saw that Plus3: Ireland was available, I was immediately intrigued. Reading about being able to learn from extremely successful businesses in a hub of commerce, I immediately began drawing up my application. In any trip abroad and certainly of this program, I hope to gain a better understanding of what makes businesses tick, whether they be Irish or American or whatever. I hope to establish some connections (working abroad is another dream of mine!) as well as pick up on some best business practices. I can’t wait for all that I will learn about these successful Ireland-based businesses, and just how I can make this knowledge useful in my own professional career.