I have been procrastinating writing this last blog post because, in a way, it means the trip is truly over. Looking back on the entire trip, the experience I keep returning to in my mind is our visit to Dachau. We visited incredible companies, saw beautiful castles, explored historic cities, and made unforgettable memories, but…
Category: Plus3 2025
Day 3: University of Augsburg
Finally, a full night of sleep after a hectic last 48 hours, I woke up with a jolt of energy. We took a street car at 7 AM to the University and this was my first time taking it. It is a very effective and clean way of transportation, and is one of the defining…
Day 15: Heading Back to Reality
As I sit here getting ready to head home, I feel a mix of emotions. First and foremost, I am tired. The last two weeks have been packed with early mornings, long bus rides, company visits, presentations, tours, and exploring new cities. Looking back at everything we have done, it is honestly crazy how much…
Day 14: The Best Day Ever!
Going into the trip, the girls in our group had decided that we wanted to spend our free day somewhere in Austria. Most of them really wanted to visit the locations where The Sound of Music was filmed. Honestly, I did not have a strong preference about where we went. I just hoped we would…
Day 7: Getting Retail (and Exposure) Therapy in Munich!
Today was one of my favorite days of the program as we took a day trip to Munich! Given my (unhealthy) passion for shopping, I was super excited to walk around, get gifts for my friends and family, and buy more clothes that absolutely do not need! Once we got off the train, I immediately…
Day 10: Earliest wakeup in the books
After having been to so many site visits and factory tours of companies that other groups were assigned to, I almost forgot there would be a day that we would we would visit my groups company! Meeting in the lobby in the five o’clock hour felt like a fever dream. I prepared questions the night…
A Bittersweet Goodbye to the City that Stole My Heart and Seoul
My time in South Korea, though it has now ended, was endlessly educational and will continue to impact me in countless ways moving forward. Throughout this blog, I’ve detailed my many experiences overseas, but in this post, I hope to establish a continuity between them all and highlight the true value this experience had for…
Day 9: Exploring Nuremberg above and below ground
Our departure time this morning for MAN was 6:15am, so it was another abruptly early wake-up and quick breakfast. With a two and a half hour bus ride to MAN, I tried my best to sleep on the way there, but when I couldn’t, I put my earbuds in, listened to my favorite Harry Styles…
Final Reflection
This trip was a great experience that combined cultural and educational experiences. South Korea was my first choice for the Plus3 locations, and this trip has completely exceeded my expectations. Through our meeting I had a good understanding of what the trip would be like, and so I was not surprised with the fast moving…
Day 15: 17 Lines, 12 Escalators, and One Train Later, I’m Home.
We took our final bus ride early this morning and arrived at the airport. Earlier in the trip, I mentioned that the Munich airport felt smaller and quieter than I expected. This time, however, it was the complete opposite. From the moment we arrived, there were lines and crowds everywhere. I had to pull out…
Day 13: Wrapping Up in Augsburg
After all the site visits, discussions with employees, and meetings with our groups, it was finally time to present. We had a quick lunch at the university and did one last run-through of our presentation. I am a very nervous presenter, so I kept practicing in my head what I wanted to say, how to…
Day 12: A Front-Row Seat to Car Production
Since we had already completed the discussion with Audi on our first day, today consisted of only the factory tour and museum visit. When we first arrived, we had some free time to explore the store and look around. There were many cool model cars on display, as well as real cars featuring current and…
Day 13: Presentation Day
Today is the day the entire trip has been leading up to: presentation day. The American students have been so busy with company visits and other activities that it has been somewhat difficult to find time to meet with our groups. We met up a few times throughout the trip, but most of the work…
Plus3 South Korea Final Reflection
I cannot begin to express how much the opportunity to go on the Plus3 South Korea program has benefited me as a student and as a future professional engineer. I never expected to end my freshman year of college learning abroad, and I cannot imagine a better opportunity for first-year students to explore engineering on…
Day 2 Blog — Taking it All In
Stepping foot in Augsburg for the first time, I was immediately filled with a sense of curiosity about just how different these next two weeks would feel for me. From the openness of the fields, seemingly never touched by humans, to the small, clustered communities across the country, all looking roughly the same, I knew…
Day 15: Industry, Culture, History: Bavaria’s One Lesson
After two weeks of being in Germany, there is so much to reflect on. The moment I keep returning to is standing on the mountain behind Neuschwanstein. After days of early mornings, thousands of steps, and constantly being on the move, something shifted when I reached the top. I remember writing that the beauty overwhelmed…
Day 14: Two Weeks, A Lifetime of Lessons: Auf Wiedersehen
It was time to go homeeeeeee. This was a sad day, but also a day I was looking forward to. I loved Germany more than words can describe. I learned so much about a different culture. From the roots of how it was built, to the people who left an impact, and so much more….
Day 13: When Am I Going to Be in Munich Again?
After two weeks of tours and continuous work, mixed in with a little bit of fun, we had a day to ourselves. We were very excited about this day and originally planned to visit Salzburg, Austria. But after thinking for a few days, we realized how tired we were and how much we had been…
Day 12: From the Factory Floor to the Front of the Room
It’s time, game day!!! After countless days of touring companies and learning about their view on the current market and future outcome, it was time to present our view on the situation of our company. This was the latest day we had to wake up. Our presentation was at 2pm which gave us plenty of…
Day 11: The Factory That Feels Like the Car
Audi made it very loud and clear that they were going all in on electric cars. When touring the BMW factory, they mentioned that they were looking to get into the electric market as they’re adapting it in some of their cars. But they haven’t taken a full stance on getting into luxury electric vehicles…