Hello! My name is Katherine Gurda and I am a rising junior at the University of Pittsburgh. I am majoring in Accounting, minoring in French and Economics, and have a certificate in International Business. I am involved with FBA (Fashion Business Association), PIST (Pitt Ski and Snowboard Team), Pitt Ski and Snowboard Club, and Club Cheer. I am also the VP of Finance for my sorority, Sigma Delta Tau. My home town is Wayne, NJ. It’s in northern Jersey near New York City. I love to go to the beach, to go skiing, to go to concerts and to hang out with friends. I have also worked as a lifeguard for the past couple of summers at the town pool in my hometown.

I have been studying French since I was in 8th grade. I chose French because since I was in first grade and I learned what Paris was, I have wanted to go there. It was my dream and I was finally able to go after I graduated highschool and I can’t wait to go back. I took French the first chance I could, and about half the decorations in my room are Paris themed. I wanted to do everything I could to make my chances of going there better and feel more connected to it. 

After I graduate I want to get my CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and work at an accounting firm. After a couple of years I want to either move and work in France or work in the US and do business with people in France. Either way I want to be able to work with and have a connection with people in other countries.

I am so excited to participate in the International Internship Program in Paris. I have always wanted to study abroad in Paris and being able to do an internship in Paris makes it so much better. I knew for a long time that I wanted to do a long study abroad program. After starting at Pitt I realized that I didn’t want to miss a semester because I loved it so much. This made me so happy that Pitt has a ton of programs over the summer. I did the Plus 3 program in Cyprus last year. This program made me fall in love with studying abroad and confirmed that I would love to study abroad for a longer period of time. I am also so excited that the International Internship Program is homestead. It is going to be so much fun staying in an apartment in Paris. It is going to be amazing to have a local’s point of view on where to go and what to do. The apartment is also located very close to the Arc de Triomphe. 

I chose this program for many reasons. I chose the location because as I mentioned before I love the city and I have been studying French for a long time. I think this program is a great way to experience French work culture and the French way of life in general. It is also a great way to get connections so that if I do move there I will know people and be able to get a job easier. It is an amazing way to see if I like working in France or would prefer to just work with French clients/partners but from the US. It will also help me see if I think living in Paris is a plausible choice for the future. It will also help me improve my speaking skills immensely. Being surrounded by the language is a great way to get better at speaking more fluently. 

My internship is at a FinTech firm. While this isn’t a field that I will likely go into in the future, it is going to be a great learning experience. I am excited to work with a lot of different people and be able to form connections with different coworkers. I am going to be able to learn a lot from them. FinTech is a rapidly growing sector so knowing about it will be very beneficial in future jobs. 

Overall I am extremely excited. I can’t wait to immerse myself in the culture, try many different types of food and be able to explore the city. I am looking forward to meeting new people, both from the US and France, and being able to travel all over. This is going to be an amazing experience and I hope that whoever is reading this also has a lot of fun going on this adventure with me.