Thursday was presentation day, and it honestly felt strange realizing how quickly the trip had gone by. I started the morning by getting breakfast at Picnic with my roommate Erin before heading to campus. I got a bagel and cappuccino, which was honestly the perfect way to start such a busy day. After breakfast, we headed over to the University of Augsburg where my group spent the morning making final edits and practicing our presentation one last time before presentations officially began.
After practicing, my group spent some time sitting together and talking about our experiences throughout the trip and how fast everything had gone by. Since it was our last full day in Augsburg, it felt bittersweet reflecting on all the memories we had made together over the past two weeks. We talked about our favorite company visits, funny moments from the trip, and everything we still wanted to do before leaving Germany. It was nice slowing down for a little while before the presentations started because the entire week had felt so busy and fast-paced.
Once presentations officially began, we realized our group would actually be presenting last. At first, I was a little nervous because it meant we had to sit through every presentation before finally giving ours at the end of the day. However, it also gave me the opportunity to listen to all the other groups and see how everyone approached their company analysis. Since our group focused on BMW, I especially enjoyed hearing the presentation on Audi because it was interesting directly comparing the two luxury automotive competitors after visiting both facilities in person.
During our presentation, I presented the Porter’s Five Forces analysis for BMW. After spending so much time researching and preparing throughout the trip, I honestly felt much more confident presenting than I expected. Overall, I was really happy with how our group worked together. We stayed organized, supported each other well, and managed to fit everything within the presentation time limit.
Later that evening, we had our farewell dinner at Ratskeller Augsburg with both the Pitt students and the German students from Augsburg. It felt very full-circle because many of the students we had met throughout the trip were all together in one place again before saying goodbye. For dinner, I had creamy turkey with a traditional German noodle dish, which ended up being one of my favorite meals from the trip.
After dinner, a group of us grabbed gelato from Tutti Frutti and spent time standing outside talking before eventually saying goodbye to many of the German students. One of the best parts of this trip has honestly been meeting new people and hearing different perspectives about life, culture, and education outside of the United States. Even though navigating a new country and language barrier could sometimes feel overwhelming, the kindness and friendliness of the German students made the experience feel much more welcoming and comfortable throughout the entire program.
