Hi! My name is Victor Ezaru and I’m a first-year student at Pitt in the School of Computing and Information (SCI), planning to study computer science. I am a native to the Pittsburgh area, born and raised in the suburb of Monroeville, where I’ve lived my whole life. Ever since I was young, I was interested in computers, and thought I wanted to study computer science, even though I didn’t really know what it was! I went to Central Catholic High School, which is down the street on Fifth Avenue, only a 10 or 15 minute walk from Cathy, so I was already familiar with Oakland before coming to Pitt. In high school I joined the FIRST Robotics team, focusing on coding, which reinforced my interest in computer science.
I have been extremely fortunate to travel to a lot of different countries throughout my life. Additionally, I went on a study abroad to Central Europe in high school, which was one of the best experiences of my life. Coming to Pitt, going on another study abroad was not something I had planned, but the Plus3 program to Korea really interested me for several reasons.
The Plus3 trip to Korea closely matched my interests, both personally and academically. I was very intrigued by the smart systems theme. As someone who has always loved technology and is studying computer science, this theme fits me perfectly. Smart systems are obviously the future as technology becomes a bigger part of our lives, so I want to study and learn more about them. Korea is a great place to do this, since technology is so ingrained in their society. Many of the world’s biggest technology companies are based in Korea, and I am super excited for the company and university visits that we are going to do.
I am also very excited to immerse myself in a completely new and unfamiliar culture. Although I have traveled quite a lot, I certainly have never been somewhere like Korea. I want to have the opportunity to experience something completely different and understand more about the Korean way of life. My personal and academic interests also meet here, and I hope to get to see how culture and technology are intertwined in Korea. I really can’t wait; I know it’s going to be an amazing trip!