Hello, my name is Olivia Forester! Hailing from Hershey, Pennsylvania, yes like the chocolate, I enjoy getting together with family and friends; showing my love through quality time, support, and sarcastic commentary. I enjoy thought-provoking books, podcasts, and movies. I find myself relishing in my moments spent outdoors consisting of hikes while the leaves fall in Autumn, walks during crisp Winter afternoons, and lounging on the Cathy lawn during those Spring sunsets. I take pleasure in hobbies that challenge me, even in a lighthearted fashion. These include, but are not limited to jigsaw puzzles, legos, or group board games. 

I am a student at the University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration, where I am currently majoring in Finance and Business Information Systems with a certificate in Leadership and Ethics. I pride myself on my influence and involvement within the communities surrounding me. I am engaged in many groups on campus such as Phi Beta Lambda, a professional business organization, where I serve as Historian; Women in Business, as Vice President of Corporate Relations; Pitt Business Review, as Vice President; and Epsilon Sigma Alpha, as an active member. Despite my hectic schedule, I am committed to making a meaningful impact throughout my academic journey, and leadership and active participation have been and will continue to be, key to achieving this desire.

I am a strong individual passionate about community service and social advocacy eager to contribute to and gain knowledge of the world through business. I am committed to continuous personal and professional growth via curiosity and perseverance. I exude and devote myself to evolving my confidence, passion, and honesty. During the Summer of 2024, I was employed at Faulkner Automotive Group at Toyota as a Variable Operations Intern which allowed me to hone in on my financial advising, customer service, and sales skills. I appreciated being able to work in multiple departments and learn from a variety of personalities and mentoring styles. For the Summer of 2026, I am excited to be interning with TE Connectivity as a Product Management Intern in order to grow my understanding of supporting product lifecycle management through trend analysis, competitive benchmarking, cross-functional optimization, and sustainability initiatives.

Personally, the main reason that led me to partake in the Global Service Learning program was the opportunity to work with a real-life company and make a true and direct impact on lives, profits, and an underserved, well-deserving population. I have always been interested in studying abroad, and this prospect felt like the perfect way to begin, especially considering its one-week duration. Academically, I want to integrate more of an international awareness into my education due to its ability to expand my comprehension of the societal, political, and economic issues and disparities that affect business across all industries. Professionally, immersing myself in new experiences that will test my abilities to cross-culturally communicate, analyze competition and business ventures, and work within a group of talented and capable individuals will help compel me to grow the traits necessary to be successful now and in the future. 

As the Bolivia group has begun the discovery and development processes of this project, it has been enlightening to explore how our different strengths will work together to effectively and efficiently complete our deliverables. I cannot wait to document our experiences and evaluate my transformation into an educated service learner!