Hi! My name is Candice and I will be studying abroad Spring 2019 through the GBI Sydney program. I hope this introductory post will not only showcase who I am but also be something I can look back on after my abroad experience!

A little bit about me- I was born and raised in Southern California. I lived in downtown Los Angeles for my first 5 years and then moved to Orange County where my family still resides. I’d be lying if I said I miss California’s warm weather but getting snow in Pittsburgh makes up for it! In my free time I love trying new foods, catching up with friends, and of course, traveling.

I have visited South Korea numerous times to visit family and Tokyo, Japan once for vacation. I have also participated in Pitt’s Plus 3 program in China and Service Learning Organizations in Bolivia.

As a student, I am a junior at PittBusiness majoring in Supply Chain Management and Marketing. I am also obtaining Certificate Programs in Business Analytics and International Business. I am a member of Delta Sigma Pi, a professional business fraternity, as well as Society for International Business where I served as president this past year.

This summer I had the opportunity to intern at the U.S. Commercial Service, Department of Commerce as a student intern. The downtown Pittsburgh office dealt with small to medium sized companies located in western Pennsylvania that wanted to start exporting abroad. My role at the office was to conduct marketing research for these circumstances. Through this internship, I was able to figure out that within marketing I had an interest in the research and data side of things.

I am going to Sydney, Australia through the Global Business Institute study abroad program. This program is a PittBusiness program and is also offered in many other countries. I am able to take major-related electives along with core business classes that will count for credit because the program is so closely paralleled with the classes at Pitt’s main campus. By going through the Global Business Institute program, I also get the opportunity to intern abroad as well.

I chose Australia for 2 reasons- one was that Australia is the hub of supply chain in the Asia Pacific region. I am excited to take supply chain classes in such an important location. Another reason is that while I have this opportunity to go to a different country, I wanted to choose a location I would not have the chance to go to if it weren’t for this program. Naturally, Australia was an obvious decision.

I am so excited to start my study abroad experience. I am so excited to learn, to be curious, to eat lots of new foods, and to make lots of new friends!