Hi! I’m Lexi Shafer and I am an incoming sophomore in the Swanson School of Engineering and Frederick Honors College. I am majoring in electrical engineering and hoping to minor in business. I am so excited to be travelling to Costa Rica this May. This will be my first time travelling to a different continent and I can’t wait to experience the different culture.

I will be traveling with the Plus3 Program, which is a program for freshmen business and engineering students. The program combines both business and engineering topics to help create a more holistic learning experience. We will arrive in country on May 4 and stay for the next two weeks. While in Costa Rica, we will be touring different cities and plantations for exports, learning about sustainability efforts in the country, and experiencing the culture. We will be staying with different host families, and I am so excited to take this opportunity to develop my Spanish skills.

Through this program I am hoping to gain insight into how business and engineering are connected, in addition to a greater intercultural perspective. I believe that as an engineer, a business background will assist me in meeting and understanding stakeholder demands with a more holistic approach. I know that I will benefit from learning more about project management, budgeting, resource allocation, and risk assessment, and the ways that I can apply these concepts to my work as an engineer. I am excited for the site visits so that I can begin to understand how an industry functions in all aspects.

As an engineering student, the importance of sustainable design is highlighted frequently in my classes. Costa Rica is a leader in sustainable design, and I hope to learn more about the ways that sustainability is considered while engineering, and the several solutions that have been derived, so that I may apply these principals to engineering problems I may face in the future. Additionally, I hope to make connections with the industry professionals we will meet and my host family, as well as form close friendships with those traveling with me.

I can’t wait to get to Costa Rica and explore the country!