As I said in my last blog post, I truly could not have asked for a better Plus3 experience than the one I got. I made new friends with similar interests, saw more of the world than I ever have before, ate delicious food, and most importantly, broadened my perspective.
One thing in particular about the trip that really stands out to me was our visit to Dachau. Being an American student, it feels like I learned about WWII 20 different times growing up, each time just as surface-level as the last. But being in Germany, and seeing the camp for itself, I gained a ton of perspective on just how terrible things were back then. On the other hand, I learned a lot about just how far we’ve come as humans. Though far from perfect, I feel as though the world has learned, and continually learns, how to be better to one another, becoming a more unified people.
I think the most valuable thing I’m bringing home with me, aside from that perspective, is all the friendships I made while abroad. Not just the Pitt students I traveled with, but also some of the German students we had the pleasure of working with as well. There are even a few of them who are studying abroad in Pittsburgh this upcoming fall, and I can’t wait to welcome them into my home the same way that we were welcomed into theirs.
This trip has also shown me some career interests I never even knew I had. I came into Plus 3 as someone who really doesn’t care what they drive so long as it gets from point A to point B. And while I still wouldn’t consider myself a car guy at all, I discovered that I am really interested in major supply chains. From start to finish, each step of the production process for all of the companies we looked into was meticulously planned, all with goals of sustainability and efficiency, almost like a fun game. Personally, I could see myself playing this game as a long-term career.
When looking back on my trip in its entirety, I think my biggest takeaway from everything is that it’s never too late to change. From the workers in the factories we toured discussing career changes, to the tragic history of Germany as a whole regarding WWII, everyone can pivot. I had heard a quote before that I gained a new appreciation for: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” While this quote always made sense to me in general terms, I never saw how much it applies to everyone and everything. The companies we toured, showing us their evolution over time, exemplify this quote. The factory workers discussing their journeys to get where they are today exemplify this quote. The strength of the local people to move past what happened in their country less than 100 years ago, and come out better than they had been before, exemplifies this quote.
So while I loved exploring Germany for all of its architecture, foods, and culture, I think seeing just how much a country can change through such adversity has given me a new perspective that I never expected to gain when we left two weeks ago.