Hi everyone! My name is Henry Lombardi, and I am majoring in Chemical Engineering. I intend to pursue the Sustainability certificate and possibly minor in Bioengineering or Material Science. I was born and raised in New York City, but I have family here in Pittsburgh, which was one of the many things that introduced me to Pitt and the Swanson School of Engineering. I attended Brooklyn Technical High School, the nation’s largest high school, where I became interested in chemistry and engineering. Aside from academics, my favorite pastime is taking walks around NYC. Despite growing up between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the city is almost never-ending, meaning there is so much of it that I have never seen. Being at school has only made me miss home more, so I have been taking roughly ten-mile walks during my breaks to get in time to explore new neighborhoods. I love to explore new places, so I am very excited about the opportunity to travel to Vietnam with Plus3 this summer!

When I applied for Plus3, I ranked South Korea first and Vietnam second. I have traveled abroad to Europe and South America previously, so I hoped to study abroad in Asia. I was incredibly excited when I heard I was going to Vietnam, and I cannot wait for the experience. The Plus3 Vietnam program is a fantastic opportunity to diversify my engineering education at Pitt. The chance to study the interdependencies of business and engineering will help me grow as an engineer and open my mind to new career possibilities. I am also very excited to experience a nation as rich in culture and history as Vietnam. Besides STEM, I have always loved history and found business interesting, as my father is a restaurateur. Overall, I am incredibly eager to experience the numerous unique opportunities in-country and learn more about the world and my future career!