Hi everyone!! My name is Emma Gravgaard and I am so excited to talk about my amazing global experience that I went on a couple weeks ago, but I’ll start with a little introduction! I am a rising senior majoring in industrial engineering and minoring in economics. Outside of the classroom I am a diver on the Pitt swim and dive team and a member of Phi Sigma Rho. In my free time I love to read, go out on the lake, and spend time with my family and friends.

This summer I participated in the Transfer plus3 program, a 2 week experiential learning opportunity tailored to upperclassmen engineers. Our program went to Prague in the Czech Republic! We had the chance to stay right near Old Town Square, which is right in the center of the hustle and bustle of Prague. I can honestly say this was one of the best experiences of my life and I cannot wait to talk about it more in upcoming blog posts.

I was motivated to go on this program because I had always been interested in Pitts Plus3 programs before I even came to Pitt. I thought it was an amazing experience to study abroad without being away from home for too long. These programs were usually only made for after (in my case the engineering) freshman year. However, my plan to do this freshman year was canceled due to Covid, and I thought my chances of studying abroad was taken away as I cannot be gone for too long due to diving.

When I found out about this plus3 meant for upperclassmen I was absolutely elated, I now had the chance to study abroad and I was more than ecstatic at the prospect of going to Prague!! I have heard so much about this city from fellow friends and family, who all had nothing but positive things to say about this city and the country. I was also very excited about the experiential learning that would be involved on this trip, such as immersing ourselves in the culture and getting to experience other countries outside of the United States. As an industrial engineer, I recognize how important being globally focused is, and I was so excited at the prospect to see engineering in another culture and country. I look forward to talking more about this experience in future blog posts as well!

Czeching out for now, but I’ll be back soon to talk more about my amazing time in Prague and on a Pitt study abroad program!

Emma Gravgaard