Hello everyone, my name is Max Rimdzius and I am a Senior Industrial Engineer at the Swanson School of Engineering. In my free time, I enjoy golfing, boating on Lake Erie, and traveling as much as possible! I graduated high school from the Erie, PA area and decided to go to Pitt since the city interested me from a young age.
I was not entirely confident in choosing an engineering degree; however, after getting introduced to the Industrial Engineering program, I knew that it was going to be perfect for me. I had my doubts in my freshman year and talked to my advisor about a switch into the Business school. However, with the new Business Minor program, I was able to do both within my four years at Pitt. I also am planning to attain the Supply Chain Certification within the Swanson School, as I believe it will make me a well-rounded and desirable candidate for future work opportunities. This summer, I am happy to announce that I am going to be completing an internship in the Supply Chain division for Zurn Elkay Water Solutions. I am very excited to begin my internship since I have a strong passion for the Supply Chain area.
The program that I decided to go on was “Engineering the German Way” in Munich, Germany. The program is a three-week study abroad program that includes one virtual week, followed by two weeks in Munich. It is run through the Munich University of Applied Sciences and has both lecture portions that show us how German students learn in their lecture settings, as well as events that allow us to see the history within Munich. I have not gotten to see too much of the city yet, since we have just gotten into Munich, however I look forward to seeing Olympiapark and the Nymphenburg Palace.
My main goals for the program are to learn how to think differently and see problems from a different viewpoint, as well as to view all of the history that Munich has to offer. There are presentations that we will complete with the German students, which will be both a great learning experience and a great interactional experience for all of the students. I hope to gain a sense of appreciation for how other countries and societies approach engineering-type problems, as well as to gain knowledge regarding the country of Germany itself. I look forward to writing a new post to update you on the rest of the program! I included one image of the Glockenspiel that I took the first afternoon that I arrived.
