Hi! My name is Kali Jacobs, and I am a freshman here at Pitt double majoring in CS and digital narrative and interactive design or DNID. I am from Lancaster PA, but have lived all over the USA, so traveling around is not new for me. At Pitt I am part of WiCs (women in computer science) and CSC (computer science club) and sailing. I didn’t even know we had a sailing team, but it is something I always wanted to try, and I look forward to getting out on the water. The program I’m going on is Plus 3 South Korea with Swanson and SCI (school of computing and information). I am so grateful to be selected for this opportunity and happy Pitt offers so many to choose from! I am also the only SCI student in my group so I am looking forward to learning a lot more about engineering than I ever thought I would just by listening to side conversations of group members. 

As for the trip I am excited to get going! I’ve been planning how to pack, buying business casual, and getting all the travel documents ready to go! I have never been to another continent and have always wanted to go to Asia! I am looking forward to experiencing the culture and learning more about the history of Korea. This study aboard will not only offer exploration opportunities but valuable academic ones as well. The course topic for my Plus3 is smart systems. They are everywhere today and only getting more widespread and powerful. And where better to learn more about these systems than Korea! We are going to be spending the majority of time in Seoul, a global leading smart city. Knowledge gained in this topic will be useful for me to apply to future internships and classes in both CS and DNID. Overall, for this trip I want to make some lifelong memories. Everyone is always saying that they loved their studying abroad. They learned about the culture, took lessons away from the country, had great food, and experienced personal growth. So, I can’t wait to learn more about myself and what I can do over this trip!