Hello, my name is Luke Vinansky. I am a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh studying Materials Science and Engineering. Outside of academics, I am an active member of the Triangle chapter at Pitt, where I serve as social chair. I am originally from Mayfield, PA, a small town located about 15 minutes from Scranton. During high school, I took multiple engineering courses to prepare for my future studies, which strengthened my interest in science and engineering. Looking ahead, I am excited to take on new challenges, develop my skills, and contribute to advancements in materials science.

Outside of school, some of my hobbies are traveling, skiing, and eating. I love to travel. I have been almost everywhere in the U.S. This will also be my first time traveling outside the U.S., so I am very excited for this opportunity. While traveling, I enjoy trying different foods, and this is a great opportunity to sample new dishes and also learn about different cultures.

My chosen Plus-3 program is in the Netherlands. I will be traveling to the Netherlands for 14 days to learn about sustainability and how the Dutch have used engineering to guide my future studies. I hope, with this experience, I can help make the U.S. a little more sustainable in my future career. I’m not 100% sure what I want to do in the future, but I beilve that this trip will be a great stepping stone for my future endeavors and help me figure out what I want to do after school and which field of work I want to go into. Overall, I am really excited for this opportunity and can’t wait for it.