Hi everyone!

My name is Hailey Latona, and I just finished my second year at Pitt where I am pursuing a joint Mathematics-Economics major, a business minor, and the Global Distinction. Even though the year just wrapped up, and all of us students had to unpack up after moving out, I am already packed up once again to go to Prague, my first of three stops in Central Europe.

This May, I will be studying in the Czech Republic and Poland, focusing on the post-war effects of World War II and how these effects are still seen throughout the country generations later. The Comparative Economics of Central Europe study abroad program blends my interest of history, industry, and policy, while also allowing me to explore how cultures are preserved throughout the world. As a STEM student, studying abroad, especially a program with a focus on history and culture reminds me and sets the context for the complex problems mathematical tools hope to solve.

I am part of Quo Vadis, a student group that gives tours of the 31 Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning, so I have become familiar with how the immigrant groups and the University of Pittsburgh preserve cultural history. Although I know some cultural history of the Czech Republic and Poland, the Czechoslovak and Polish Rooms represent a time prior to 1787, so I am excited to see how the values chosen within those rooms are still preserved and reflected today in each country. For these same reasons, I am excited to see Wawel Castle in Krakow, as that castle served as the prototype for the Polish Room.

Beyond just exploring cultures, I am excited to see how an understanding of economics intersects with and strengthens an understanding of additional fields such as politics and industry. I am still exploring what industry I want to pursue post-graduation, so this program’s wide range of experiences will help me envision where I might make the largest impact. Whether I chose to pursue logistics, where knowing many other cultural attitudes towards work, or the tourism industry, where noting my own behavior and the city infrastructure set to handle masses of tourists, I will gain a global understanding that will shape my professional goals.