See the most recent student blogs here!
Check out what our students are up to internationally and domestically on their global experience programs.
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Academic Culture at Queen’s University Belfast
Maisie Oliver, Queen’s University Belfast, Fall 2025 Queen’s University Belfast operates on an asynchronous timeline for schoolwork. For each of my three modules, which were 20 credits within the UK system and 6 credits translated to the US, I had two major assignments to complete. These assignments were spaced out throughout the semester and covered…
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Belfast’s Distinct Cultural Regions
Maisie Oliver, Queen’s University Belfast, Fall 2025 Before arriving in Belfast, I had learned about the ‘Troubles’ of Northern Ireland. To summarize, there remained major religious cleavages in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants due to the colonialism of the United Kingdom and resistance from the Irish. Presently, these cleavages are obviously apparent. Although violence…
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Navigating Daily Life in Paris
Zakhar Paulousky, CIEE Open Campus Block in Paris, Fall 2025 Though we all live on the same floating rock, lives differ significantly across the world. This is the case for my life studying abroad in Paris versus my studying at Pitt. My days varied quite a bit, and I will try to describe how some…
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My Advice for Others
Zakhar Paulousky, CIEE Open Campus Block in Paris, Fall 2025 There are so many things that one must navigate while studying abroad. This should come as no surprise to anyone. People have very different cultures, practices, and food, among many other things. There are a number of administrative hurdles that one must jump through as…
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The Impact of Studying Abroad
Zakhar Paulousky, CIEE Open Campus Block in Paris, Fall 2025 As for many people, my time studying abroad has been one of the best experiences of my life. With that status, it has definitely shifted and changed me as well. Personally, academically, and professionally, I feel like I have grown a significant amount over the past 4 months…
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Why AJY Heidelberg Stands Out
Kim Heinzelmann, AJY Heidelberg Fall 2025 I have always wanted to study abroad, and that dream has now become a reality for me. I am currently spending a year in Germany as part of the American Junior Year (AJY) at Heidelberg University program, and, throughout the past three months, this program has been all that…
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How is German Academic Culture Different from Pitt?
Kim Heinzelmann, AJY Heidelberg Fall 2025 With the weather growing slowly but steadily colder and the trees losing more and more leaves each day, the approach of winter is apparent. Along with this awareness came the realization that, now towards the end of November, my friends and classmates in the US only have a couple…
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Tongue-Tied: Challenges with Navigating Daily Life in a Different Language
Kim Heinzelmann, AJY Heidelberg Fall 2025 I grew up speaking English and only English. In fact, I was already in my teenage years when my school started offering foreign language courses. That aside, once I began, it did not take very long for me to realize that I absolutely loved learning languages. Throughout high school,…
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Career Advancements: What Plus3 Had to Offer
George Abbato, Plus3 Engineering Summer 2025 Personally, study abroad made a huge impact in my career’s direction and goals. In Bilbao, we had the opportunity to see a lot of research first hand, which contributed to a lot of my newfound goals. On a short term basis, I realized that I need to take advantage…
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How Food Shaped My Experience
George Abbato, Plus3 Engineering Summer 2025 In general, I love trying new restaurants and new types of food at home. I grew up with my family working and owning a restaurant, so this was a huge part of my upbringing. Naturally, food was something I was very excited to experience in another country, and I…