Hello! My name is Diya Parekh, and I am a freshman Mechanical Engineering student at the Swanson School of Engineering. I am from Bucks County, PA, which is about 30 minutes from downtown Philly. In my free time, I enjoy playing guitar and viola, listening to music, and reading! I also love to travel, so I am excited to visit The Netherlands for the first time and immerse myself in its culture.

In terms of my education and professional goals, I am planning to explore different industries I could possibly enter after I complete my degree, and I am especially interested in positions where I can make a powerful difference. As part of my exploration, I tentatively plan on pursuing the International Engineering Certificate and the Engineering For Humanity Certificate. To meet more like-minded people, I also served as an officer for the Society of Women Engineers this academic year.

I chose the Plus3 Netherlands program because I was fascinated by its culture and its industries, as both are very different from the United States. With a focus on sustainability and ethics in unique markets such as the tulip, cheese, and chocolate industries, I believe I will learn many insightful details on how they function from concept to customer. Personally and academically, it is exciting to challenge myself by stepping outside my comfort zone by leaving the country without my family for the first time and navigating the process with my peers. I think this experience will prime me for a full semester abroad later in my college career.