Hi PittHonors Community! My name is Tyler Katz and I’m a rising senior Nordenberg Leadership Scholar at Pitt studying Computational Biology with minors in Spanish and Chemistry and a certificate in Global Health. I’m originally from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where I live with my family while I’m not taking classes. On campus, I am an ambassador of the University with the Blue & Gold Society and I serve as the President of the Student Health Advisory Board, promoting health and wellness on campus and representing the student body to the administration of Student Health Services. I am also involved with Medlife, the OCC Honor Society, and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. In my free time, I enjoy playing piano and watching Mexican or Spanish TV series on Netflix. My favorite has been La casa de papel and I am so excited to be able to visit the Royal Mint of Spain during my time in Madrid. After graduation, I plan to pursue graduate programs in Computer Science in preparation to begin a career in the technology or pharmaceutical industries.

This summer I will be participating in the Pitt in Spain program, where I will be taking advanced Spanish coursework at la Universidad de Alcalá, an UNESCO World Heritage site located just outside of Madrid! I chose this program because learning Spanish and becoming fluent has always been a huge goal of mine. Throughout high school, Spanish was always my favorite class and I am so glad I have had the opportunity to continue studying this subject while at Pitt. With a family from Puerto Rico, I’ve grown up hearing Spanish around me and I am enamored by the rich culture and history of the Hispanic community. In this immersive program, I hope to increase my command of the written and spoken language and get closer to fluency. Personally, I hope to learn more about Spain and European culture in an effort to be a more globally and culturally aware citizen. I’m excited to see famous paintings like Velazquez’s Las meninas in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. I love to travel and see different parts of the world to learn about cultures that are new to me! Through an amazing student organization called Medlife at Pitt, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Lima, Peru, and Riobamba, Ecuador, participating in service learning trips, where we volunteered at mobile clinics in rural towns to combat inequity in access to healthcare. Professionally, I hope this program will make me a more valuable employee. As the percentage of Spanish speakers in the US grows, the value in knowing it as a second language grows exponentially. In our increasingly connected world, knowing Spanish will allow me to communicate across many borders and be of benefit to companies conducting international business with cultural competency. I am so excited to begin the Pitt in Spain program and I will continue to share about my experience in this forum! Hail to Pitt!