Hey all! My name is Ciaran O’Brien, and despite sounding very Irish, I am actually a half-Japanese half-British student from North Jersey. A little background about myself is that I was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to New York when I was a baby. After graduating from Pascack Valley High School, I am currently a freshman at the Pitt CBA.

While my plans are not yet set in concrete, I am hoping to complete a BPhil in Supply Chain Management and Business Analytics, with minors in Chinese and Economics. Outside of the classroom, I am the Operations Committee Head at Corporate Connections at Pitt Business (CCPB), as well as a member of the Supply Chain Management club and an (in)active member of the Japanese Student Association. I have also made commitments to the Pitt Paintball team (Paintball @ Pitt) and am running for the position of Business Manager next semester. I was also recently invited to join the business honour society Beta Gamma Sigma on campus.

In the future, I am looking at a career in transportation and/or logistics. Transporation systems and the supply chain have always interested me, and that is an area of business that I would like to focus in on. In the meantime, I am working part-time as an Administrative Clerk at Amped Airsoft here in Pittsburgh. Back in New Jersey, I am also a volunteer EMT for my local ambulance service.

Why I chose Plus3 Netherlands

As somebody with an international background, I often travel to different countries, but Western Europe is one area of the world which I have limited experience with. For that reason, I initially had interest in visiting Germany through the Plus3 Germany program, but it was unavailable to freshman this semester. After that, I had equal interest in doing either the Plus3 Korea or the Plus3 Netherlands program, and was eventually offered a spot in the Netherlands program.

I plan to make the most of my time in the Netherlands, and have multiple personal goals for the Plus3 program. Like most people, I am excited to see what sort of events and excursions the program includes, and I am also ready to understand the business culture of the Netherlands. Naturally, being a study abroad program, I am also looking forward to immersing myself in the foreign culture of the Netherlands, as well as Western Europe as a whole. Lastly, I am interested in meeting many people while in the Netherlands, both in the Plus3 Program but also people from the Netherlands.

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a good Plus3 experience!