Hi everyone! My name is Ella Shambaugh and I just finished my first of three years at Pitt. I am an accounting major, with a certificate in public accounting, from Harrisburg, PA. I am also a member of the professional business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi and work at Duos Taqueria in East Liberty, a Mexican…
Tag: Plus3 Ecuador
Check out all the Plus3 Ecuador blogs below!
From The Classroom to The Equator
Hi! My name is Malini Kondisetty, and this May I will be traveling to Ecuador for the Plus3 program at Pitt. I am a freshman business major here at Pitt from North Wales, Pennsylvania. I am so excited for this adventure and to learn all about the culture, chocolate, and flowers of Ecuador! At Pitt,…
All Aboard to Ecuador
Hey guys! My name is Gavin Sudac, and I am from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I am a freshman finance major here at the University of Pittsburgh School of Business and am a member of the professional fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, as well as a member of Pitt’s Socially Responsible Investment Portfolio. I also work at…
Trading Comfort for Adventure
Hi, my name is Ben Squarcia. I’m from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and I’m a freshman at Pitt majoring in Business Analytics and Finance. This May I am super excited to be traveling to Ecuador and learn all about the chocolate industry and everything else Ecuador has to offer! Outside of school, I have a major…
Emily’s Excursion to Ecuador!
Hey everyone! My name is Emily and I am from Franklin, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour and a half north from Pittsburgh. I am about three weeks from completing my first year here at Pitt, where I’m currently studying Marketing and Global Management. I am absolutely thrilled to have been selected for Plus3 Ecuador…
Before the Journey
Hello fellow travelers, My name is Matthew Hay, and this May I will be traveling to Ecuador on Pitt’s Plus Three Program. I’m a freshman Finance and Politics Major from Philadelphia. I’m also in the Fredricks Honors College and a member of multiple clubs like Panther Equity, Pitt Sports Business Association, the Athletics committee chair…
Ecuador, here I come!
Hi! My name is Leah Ambrosine. I am from West Chester, Pennsylvania. I am a Business student majoring in Marketing and Psychology with a Minor in Economics. I am also in the Frederick Honors College, along with Women in Business, American Marketing Association, and Steel City Startups. I am the second oldest of four sisters,…
The Hardest Goodbye
Plus 3 Ecuador has officially wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean that our last day was uneventful. As always, the group gathered bright and early for our last breakfast together before turning in our lodge room keys and heading on the bus to head on back to the Quito airport. Now you see, the bus…
The Final Chapter of Ecuador
Day 11 After another amazing breakfast from the people of the lodge, we went to paint our pots that we sculpted earlier in the trip. They were finally done firing. we needed someone’s hair for our brushes, so our group chose Sherly for the hair person. With Sherly’s hair, we proceeded to wrap it around…
Plants vs. Zombies
Today, the capabilities that I once applied to humankind have been refurbished and polished. At the grand time of 6:30am, the crew and I woke up for a bountiful breakfast. You can tell how rough the day will be by seeing how much food is on your plate. The more, the harder. When the…
TLC was Wrong. Do Go Chasing Waterfalls.
The day is May 16th, 2025, and the mom lore in 30 years has already exceeded expectations. On this day, I started my day by walking out onto the balcony and to my surprise, seeing a family of 6 monkeys jumping around in the trees. This lodge was much less scary in the morning, and…
Channeling My Inner Coyote Peterson
We have finally reached home base for the rest of the trip! We are currently staying at a lodge in Iyarinia, which overlooks the Napo River! Our welcome looked a little like something out of a war movie as we immediately hit the ground running, suitcases gripped until knuckles were white, gravel crumbling under our…
Day 8, 9, 10: Into the Lungs of the Earth
we woke up early to get ready for a long travel day. we got on the bus around 8 to leave to catch our canoes to go to the Waorani people. when we got to the canoes, the professors told us it would be about 6 or 7 hours on these canoes. during our canoe…
One Wild Ride
5/22 This trip has been one wild ride and I can’t believe it is coming to a close. A part of me is ready for the comforts of my everyday life and to continue with my next great adventures this summer, but a bigger part of me knows this was the trip of a lifetime,…
Leaving, but Taking it All With Me
Day 11 Today was definitely more laid-back after all the adventures from the past few days. We still woke up at our usual time, and right after breakfast, we painted the ceramic pots we made earlier in the trip. Our instructor actually cut a piece of Maddie’s hair so we could use it to make…
Last few days : Day 11, 12, 13
Today was a chill day. We woke at 7:30 as usual for breakfast at 8:00. Straight after breakfast, we started our presentations on Bio’s chocolate factory. My teammates are Maddie, Mark, and Kayhaan. We went to our rooms and sat outside working on our presentation. Afterwards, we chilled in our rooms for a few hours…
Day 7, 8, 9, 10 in Equador
Starting off our day, we at breakfast in the lodge. After breakfast, we had chocolate making and tasting. We peeled, ground, and then boiled the cocoa beans. The chocolate was mixed with leaves and sugar to add flavor. The chocolate was still very bitter for me, though. After that, we went directly to the river…
Day 3, 4, 5, 6 in Equador
Beginning day 3, we set out to visit a rose greenhouse. We learned about care for roses, customer demand, and the different types of roses. We were also gifted beautiful roses. Afterward, we headed back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, we went to a building where we learned a bit about Moncayo’s culture…
Day 5, 6, & 7: from River hikes to chocolate tastings
After a good night’s sleep in the hotel in Otavalo, we set out for our lodge in the Amazon rainforest. We had a good night’s sleep and were ready to tackle the long bus ride that was ahead. we left around 9 in the morning to start our trip. Skip and Rick decided it would…
Turning the Page, The End of My Time in Ecuador
My Plus3 Ecuador trip is finally coming to an end. First of all, I want to thank my professors Rick and Skip. They led us through a flexible Plus3 program and did it so well. They had everything planned and controlled, even if things needed to be planned last minute. I also appreciate how they…