Hello! My name is Ramsey Smith, and I am a sophomore studying Chemical Engineering and Biological Sciences. I am highly interested in drug development and medicine, and I have worked the past two summers on neurodegeneration projects at GSK and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, respectively. At Pitt, I am a member of the Student Government Board Judicial Committee, a Stamps Scholar, and the VP of Membership of Triangle Fraternity (a social STEM fraternity). I enjoy combining my technical coursework with extracurriculars that emphasize leadership and community service. This summer will be my second time studying abroad, as last summer I completed the Plus3 Engineering Program in Cyprus.
In three days, I will departing for Mussoorie, India on the Leadership in the Himalayas program. The program involves wilderness first aid training, leadership education, and backpacking ethics, all of which culminate in a ten-day outdoor trek. I chose this program because experiential learning is my foremost priority for a study abroad course. In school, I spend countless hours reading textbooks, writing essays, and taking exams. When I study abroad, I want to complete a curriculum emphasizing hands-on learning. Leadership is not easy to teach in a classroom, and in the past, I have grown the most in novel, unfamiliar situations where I had to adapt my thinking and develop new skills.
Improvement in these areas will be critical for my professional success as a chemical engineer, doctor, consultant, or whatever career I choose using my background in STEM. No matter where I end up, I will need to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds. These colleagues may have little to no knowledge about the technical work I do. I will need to be well-versed in how to understand different styles and tendencies, how to explain complex ideas, and how to extract the best work out of others as a leader. Therefore, I am excited that this program pairs a strong academic foundation in leadership theory with an extensive field-based trek that translates theory into practice.
Moreover, I am confident that the experience will result in significant personal growth. For example, I will certainly face difficult, uncomfortable situations in the wilderness—cooking, hiking an extra two miles after a long day, sleeping on the ground—that force me to develop grit and work with my peers as a team. Navigating unfamiliar situations and solving problems will give me experience to draw from for the rest of my life. By the end of the program, I hope that I will have learned more about myself and made new friends and memories.