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Hey, everyone! My name’s Isabella—but please call me Bell—and this is my introductory Pitt Plus3 blog post. I’m a first-year bioengineer with a prospective neuroscience minor in the Swanson School of Engineering. I’m a part of PRISM and Art History Club on campus, as well as SWE: The Society of Women Engineers, and I adore video games. Strike up a conversation with me about Genshin Impact, or OMORI—I’d love to indulge you.

When I’m not holed up in the Carnegie Library suffering from Physics 2 (taught by David Nero, of course), I’m listening to my favorite artists: Twenty Øne Pilots, DPR IAN, or Foster the People.

After I complete my undergraduate degree here at the University of Pittsburgh, I hope to go into Bioengineering in Psychiatry: a program for bioengineers looking to apply the technical skills they’ve picked up to solving mental health crises. That’s precisely why I’m getting a minor in neuroscience: I want to help people, and more than just superficially.

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This May, I’ll be going to Amsterdam to learn about flooding and floriculture. My hope is that I’ll be able to see real-world engineering up close, and experience what life is like abroad. I plan on taking a semester abroad junior, so I figured this could be the perfect opportunity to get to know what international travel looks like in an educational setting. I want to experience life in other countries, I want to experience culture shock, and I want to broaden my cultural perspective. As a bioengineer, I have to ask myself, “who am I designing for?” and I believe that visiting facilities like Deltaworks, the world’s largest storm surge barrier, or Floating Farm in Rotterdam will give me some insight into what human-centered design looks like in practice. I’m sure it’ll be a phenomenal experience either way. Until then, I’ll be counting down the days—I can’t wait to see what the Netherlands has in store!