Hi everyone! My name is Meredith Stein and I cannot wait to begin sharing my Cyprus journey with you all! It’s crazy to think that in less than a month we’ll already be halfway through the trip, this semester has flown by!
A little about me – I am a freshman chemical engineering major from Akron, Ohio, about two hours northwest of here. Originally, I wasn’t sure I wanted to come to Pitt. My parents both grew up around Pittsburgh so growing up, the city was my second home. When thinking about college, I wanted to go somewhere new that I (or my family) wasn’t so well acquainted with. After appeasing my parents’ wish for me to at least give it a chance, I fell in love with the school on my tour and have not looked back since committing here! Around campus, I’m involved in Phi Sigma Rho, a social stem sorority, and CHAARG, a workout club. While I’m a stem major and love the engineering field and all it has to offer, English and writing have my heart and I intend to eventually combine these two passions and pursue a career in patent law.
Outside of academia, I have a variety of interests and hobbies that I keep myself busy with. As you probably can assume from my love for English, I read a lot and especially enjoy historical fiction and poetry. I’m a huge fan of Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath and “The Bell Jar” is my favorite book, I love recommending it to everyone! Beyond reading, I like to crochet (if you’re in any of my classes you’ve definitely seen me crocheting in class on multiple occasions), listen to music, go for hikes, hammock in Schenley or Cathy lawn, and explore the city and try new restaurants with my friends. While I love spending time out and about, especially on a nice day, I also love a good rainy day that I can spend getting comfortable with a mug of coffee and a book or some yarn.
I’ve always loved to travel and have been to Europe twice before, once in 2018 when I participated in part of a research study on climate change in the Pyrenees mountains of Andorra with JASON Learning and Earthwatch Institute, and once on a family vacation to Italy in 2019. I loved having the opportunity to experience cultures different from how we live in America and can’t wait for another chance to do so. I’ve known for a while that I want to study abroad at some point, so when I heard about the Plus3 program I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get a taste of it before committing to something more long-term. I’m also excited about the chance to get to know people outside of the engineering school. I currently live in the engineering living learning community and am in a sorority full of mostly engineers, so there are very few people I interact with outside of Swanson. While I love having an engineering friend group, it will be fun to expand!
The Cyprus program seems so exciting, and I cannot wait to experience its culture! Honestly, having this trip to look forward to is a major motivation to keep pushing through these last few weeks of the semester. I mean, just a week after finals are over I’ll be in Cyprus! I can’t wait to share my experiences with you all!