Hello, my name is Christopher Taylor, and I am a first-year engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh. I will enter the Mechanical Engineering program next fall. So far at Pitt, I have gotten involved with the ASME and FSAE engineering clubs, as well as the chess club.

I am from Plum, Pennsylvania, which is about a forty-five minute drive to the East of Pittsburgh. There, I played varsity and cup soccer, ran track, participated in the chess club, and captained the KD Quiz trivia team, among other activities. I also volunteer at the Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department, and I interned at my high school’s IT department last summer.

This summer, I will spend the first two weeks of May in South Korea while participating in the Plus3 South Korea program. The day after finals, I will fly on an airplane for the first time to Atlanta before a seven and a half hour layover. Then, I will take a fifteen to sixteen hour flight to halfway around the world. I chose the Plus3 Korea program because I wanted to study abroad and gain experience about being overseas. I will also learn more about my heritage, as my grandmother is from South Korea.

South Korea has an extremely vibrant culture and is among the most technologically advanced places in the world. By focusing on the smart systems presented during the Plus3 trip, I will be able to make a comparison between current life in the United States and what life will look like in the future. As an engineer, I will need to develop new ways to solve problems, and seeing solutions from a different perspective will aid me in that endeavor. I look forward to all the cultural locations we will visit, as this year will be the first time the Plus3 program travels to Golgulsa Temple and Pohang, instead of just staying in Seoul.

From my time in South Korea, I hope to learn more about a different culture and look at life through a new perspective. I will apply what I learn about smart systems to my future engineering classes, where I will learn more deeply about how the technology functions. I will take advantage of this special opportunity to experience the full breadth of culture in this unique location.

I am looking forward to the trip and writing more blogs soon.