My name is Dylan Baird and I am currently a sophomore here at Pitt. I am 20 years old and I am from Allentown, PA. Growing up, sports played a large role in my life. In high school, I played basketball and soccer, and I loved every second of it. I also have a deep interest in music, and I taught myself how to play guitar a few years ago. Another passion of mine is traveling. My favorite trip that I have been on so far in my life is an exchange trip where I went to Germany while I was in high school. I was able to live with a family while I was there, and I went to school with my exchange partner for two weeks. Following the two weeks I spent with my exchange partner, I went and spent a few days in Munich. It was a life changing experience for me and only made me want to travel more.
This year I have declared my major as finance and I am excited to take more finance courses next semester. I am also minoring in German and economics with a certificate in international business. I have always taken my academics very seriously and I want to learn as much as I can. Growing up, I was that little kid that was always asking the question “why?” all the time. This is because I am a very curious person and I’ve always wanted to have the answers to my questions.
In high school, I was playing sports year-round, so it was hard to find time for a solid job. Luckily, I was able to find work at a basketball gym that I’ve played in my whole life. I knew the owner pretty well since I was there so often, so he offered me a job there. It was a great experience because I got to do some many different things while working there. I also love everything about basketball so having a job related to it was great. Now I am looking to gain more real-world business experience, and this International Internship Program is a perfect opportunity for me to do this.
The program that I chose to do is the International Internship Program in Berlin, Germany. The program is eight weeks in length and the Pitt students going get the opportunity to work as interns in Germany’s capital. I have chosen this program because I am seeking to gain professional work experience and I love Germany and their culture. I quickly realized how important obtaining internships are for my future, and because of this, I wanted to have an internship this summer that would help me in the future. I also am fluent in German and have visited the country a few times. Every time I have gone to Germany, I have grown to love the country even more. I want to keep improving my German as much as I can, and the best way to do this is to surround yourself with the language. This program allows me to gain professional experience while also being able to improve my German language abilities. Personally, I hope to improve my German skills and become more independent by living by myself in a foreign country. In terms of academics, I hope to learn how to apply the things that I have learned in my courses to real-world applications. I also hope this program will help me further figure out what I want to do in my professional career moving forward, as well as obtaining professional experience that will help me in the future. I am extremely excited to go to Berlin because I have never been there, but I have heard only great things about it. I can’t wait to start working and becoming immersed in German culture.
