Today’s finally the day that we go to Ireland! It’s extremely wild how fast time goes by when you mix rigorous academics, professional development, and (of course) fun together in a program. It felt like just yesterday that we drove to Pittsburgh and settled at Ruskin Hall, and it’s crazy to say that I’m writing inside the Dublin terminal of the airport as we speak. 

During the Pittsburgh portion, I grew both professionally and personally. 

One of the biggest takeaways I took from the program was easily the EIR visits, especially with Joe  and Kathy Foody-Malus. Having two seasoned mentors and people to reach out to has been so helpful when it comes to professional development. Joe was able to completely transform our outlook on the scopes, giving us each specialized recommendations (for me, technology being simultaneously with traditional culture) based off his decades of experience. Kathy really dialed us in on the economics portion, steering us in the right direction in terms of how one should think about the economy in a town. There were a plethora of other people who helped us in Pittsburgh, and we will absolutely strive to put their lessons into our final presentation in Carrigart!

From spontaneously joining a game of ultimate frisbee to the diverse cuisine, Oakland truly has no restrictions in the community sense. One day you could be sitting at home, waiting for the next thing, then you could be on a bus over to the Shadyside area to thrift and eat authentic Chinese food. I’ve been able to interact with so many cool people over the last two weeks, and I’m eager to implement both soft and hard skills that I’ve learned. This was probably the most transformative two weeks I’ve ever har in my life; I can’t wait to use them both professionally and personally when we land!