My name is Ana Compton. I’ve always found it amusing that I was born in Levittown, Pennsylvania, but raised in Levittown, New York. My hometown is a small suburbia about thirty minutes outside of Manhattan. Although I love the close proximity to both the Long Island beaches and the city, I always longed to experience life far from my suburban bubble. Throughout my high school years, my days were spent serving as captain of my district’s science research program and my nights were spent at rehearsals for school musicals. Hence, I was drawn to the University of Pittsburgh because I knew it would provide an excellent engineering education, performing arts opportunities, and new, independent life experiences in a more urban environment.

Of course, I simply couldn’t settle for merely experiencing college in a relatively distant city. My desire to travel and experience new people and places has always been insatiable. When I was told Plus3 would be my first ever opportunity to study abroad, I jumped at the chance. The program in South Korea especially drew my attention because of the emphasis on smart systems. At the time of application submission, I was an aspiring industrial engineer. The opportunity to learn about how automated technologies are being integrated to optimize workplace productivity while simultaneously gaining collaborative experience with engineers and business professionals in the field was unique and compelling. However, I’ve since decided to pursue electrical engineering because of my desire to help others without sacrificing my passion for physics and newfound love for coding. Still, I’d prefer to not work on a single technology my entire career and take a more systematic approach. I’m excited to learn more about the field and hopefully gain a better understanding of my own interests in electrical engineering by learning about smart systems in South Korea. However, I also look forward to learning about others.

 As an engineer, my job demands that I collaborate in teams with people from different demographics, regions and cultures. I hope that by becoming more educated on Korean culture, I will be more adept at accepting a variety of perspectives. I hope that navigating the unfamiliar customs and beliefs of one new country will enable me to work on teams where I must collaborate with those different from myself in any respect. Particularly, as a group leader I hope the experience helps me better recognize the individual talents of others so that I can help organize my team to be the best it can possibly be. Most importantly, I hope to build friendships that will not only support my team and my professional goals but also enrich my life.