Panther programs are designed by our Global Experiences Office staff along with faculty, composed primarily of Pitt students, and are typically led by someone from Pitt.
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A New Meaning to Experiential Learning
Alyson Ferrari, Engineering Perspectives of the Renaissance and Sustainability: Florence Summer 2025 Ever since coming to Pitt, I have found that my favorite educational and professional experiences have been paired with tangible, hands-on learning components. However, none of my prior experiences can hold a candle to the experiential learning that came from the site tours…
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72 Miles of Sweat and Survival: My Canoe Ride Deep Into the Amazon
Carter Slocum, Plus3 Ecuador Summer 2025 On Sunday (Day 9), we woke up bright and early as we had a very long travel day ahead of us. We were about to take an electric canoe 72 miles into the Amazon Rainforest to stay next to the Waorani Nation, an indigenous community still not integrated into…
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A Taste of the Amazon: Chocolate, Ceramics, Cold Showers, and Water Hike
Carter Slocum, Plus3 Ecuador Summer 2025 On Friday (Day 7), I started the day early once again with breakfast at 8am. At this point, you should know what I had for breakfast – scrambled eggs and rolls! Ecuadorians must really enjoy this meal for breakfast LOL. I slept pretty well, and I was excited to…
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Chocolate Tasting and Flower Fields: Sweet Adventures in Ecuador
Carter Slocum, Plus3 Ecuador Summer 2025 Hey everyone! Even though it has only been two days since my last blog post, it feels like so much has happened. After getting over 8 hours of sleep, I woke up Monday and felt ready to take on our next adventures. We started the morning with the same…
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Trying Cypriot Drinks and Dishes
Alexis Hammerling, Plus3 Cyprus Summer 2025 Each morning to start my day, I would eat the hotel breakfast that was included in both of the hotels we stayed at. At the first hotel I ordered delicious chocolate pancakes, fresh squeezed orange juice, poached avocado eggs, and fresh yogurts with granola. The first place was more…
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Preparing for the Plus3 Program
Alexis Hammerling, Plus3 Cyprus Summer 2025 If I could give one overarching piece of advice to anyone preparing to study abroad on a program like this, it would be to come mentally prepared for a fast-paced, highly scheduled experience that leaves little room for downtime. When I initially signed up for the program, I expected…
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Learning about the Supply Chain of Coffee in Costa Rica
Nikki Ditta, Plus3 Costa Rica Summer 2025 As I reflect on my entire trip, I’ve been able to see the industry, culture, and the environment, and its effects on shaping Costa Rica’s tropical agriculture industry. As I looked through the processes through a design and launch perspective, I noticed a few things that stuck out to…
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Connecting with the Culture in Cyprus
Alexis Hammerling, Plus3 Cyprus Summer 2025 During my time in Cyprus I was able to speak to many of the locals, and use my knowledge of the Greek language to my advantage. My grandparents came from Greece in their 20s. They bought a house near Magee hospital and have lived there ever since. They are…
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Budgeting for Beaches and Biscotti
Emre Akcakanat, Global Business Institute: Florence Spring 2025 This is from Elba Island, which I visited on a budget weekend trip from Florence. It looks like a postcard, but getting there and making it work financially definitely took some planning. That’s kind of how I approach life abroad in general now, trying to enjoy everything…
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Rome in a Day, Florence for a Lifetime
Emre Akcakanat, Global Business Institute: Florence Spring 2025 During my semester in Florence, I took a weekend trip to Rome and visited the Capitoline Museums. I saw the Dying Gaul in person, and it hit me way harder than I thought it would. You see this statue of a warrior who’s clearly been defeated, but…