Hey Everybody! My name is Sebastian Carre Jordan and I am a freshman engineering student at the Swanson School of Engineering, intending to pursue mechanical engineering. Outside of school, I love climbing, snowboarding, and cooking (or almost anything to keep me outside!). I was born in Puerto Rico, so I’m no stranger to the hot weather we’ll be experiencing in Cyprus. Besides the gorgeous beaches, ruins, and temperatures that we will experience while participating in the Plus 3 program, I am excited to learn about the world of global shipping, and how engineering impacts both the shipping economy and other companies found on the island of Cyprus, such as cement and video gaming companies.
I choose to apply, and ultimately participate in Plus 3 because I was excited for to opportunity to study abroad on a small time scale. Studying abroad is something I have deeply considered due to my diverse background (my mother is from Puerto Rico and my father is Belgian), but committing to an entire semester abroad seemed daunting to me. When I heard about the opportunity to do a 2 week, 3 credit summer abroad during a freshman seminar, I immediately jumped and started taking notes on where to apply and what sorts of things I should write about in my essays. I am most excited about learning about how the supply chain is affected by port cities like the ones found in Cyprus. Since mechanical engineering is such a broad field, I think it is important to specialize in a certain area, and manufacturing is one of the areas I am interested in. Although shipping and manufacturing aren’t directly related, how the efficient the supply chain is has a huge impact on manufacturing, and being able to experience this, and also visit a company such as Medochemie that manufactures consumer goods, will be an incredible experience.
All in all, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in this experience with other like minded, business and engineering students. I am sure the program will open my eyes to how business and supply chain interact with the world of engineering. I hope to make some incredible connections with people who are also ambitious to travel world and learn more about the global economy. Three weeks feels way too long, but I can’t wait to start my journey in Cyprus soon!