Hi everyone! My name is Elaina Burghardt and I am a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh. I am in the College of Business Administration and I am majoring in marketing and data analytics, and thinking of adding a third major in supply chain management. At pitt I am involved in the American Marketing Association as a member in the consulting group Key Creations. There I have done consulting work with multiple Oakland small businesses. As well as this I am apart of the sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma. Additionally, I work at the coffeeshop Divvy on Forbes Ave and you can find me in the back making food as a line cook or in the front trying out new latte flavors as a barista. In my free time, I love hanging out with friends, reading, going to concerts, and traveling.

I am apart of the Plus3 Cyprus program and I am beyond excited for this experience. As I mentioned I love to travel, and since Europe is one of my favorite places I have visited and visiting Greece is high on my bucket list, I knew Cyprus would be the perfect place for me to go. I also was interested in Cyprus because it was a destination I did not know much about and I love learning about new places and cultures and I think going to Cyprus will give me the best opportunity to do so.

When it comes to my future career I am not exactly sure what path I want to go or what industry I want to work in, but I am hoping experiences such as this one will lead me to a more direct path. I think this experience will be able to give me more hands on experience in a real world setting of different industries. I also think seeing these different industries from a different cultural perspective will allow me to be able to see a more complex angle of the industries we will be visiting. I think this experience will be incredibly helpful in narrowing my possible future career path and will unlock curiosity about certain career paths I may not have even though about before. On a personal level, I think a trip such as this one has the potential to be incredibly impactful in my development as I continue to grow in my adult and professional life. Being able to have such unique experiences is an opportunity that we are very lucky to get to have and I plan to embrace all that the trip has to offer. I am beyond excited and cannot wait for our journey to begin!

See you in Cyprus!

Elaina Burghardt