Thursday was officially the last day of the Haller Global Honors Fellowship. I genuinely can’t believe that an entire month went by, just like that. Through this program, I’ve been able to meet so many new people, learn so much about Ireland’s culture, and develop as a person both academically and personally. The people that I’ve met here and the memories I’ve made through this program will last a lifetime.
After delivering our presentation, I felt… complicated. Everything that we learned and the people we met culminated in this one moment, where we presented our deliverables to business owners in Carrigart. All the emotions and work that both students and project coordinators put into this program converged to this one pivotal moment. Our team, the Digital Disruption and Innovation group, honestly did not have the best presentation, and I’m not afraid to admit that. We have ways to go in being better public speakers, but this program was a great start in that. Our deliverables were great, though! Mary from Gteic took a lot of liking towards mine and Cade’s, specifically, where I created a digital step-by-step playbook on the AI tools I presented, and Cade’s made a bulletin board website for the Carrigart community. I felt both elated and sad that this would be the last time we would be in Carrigart and see the lovely people.
This program wasn’t simply a summer study abroad; it was much, much more than that. The people you’ll meet, the cultures that you’ll encounter, and the connections you’ll make here are more invaluable than any classroom teaching. It’s hard to truly recognize what you’ve learned until you reflect on it, so I will do just that.
Our Pittsburgh portion started off with a bang. Meeting Phil and Professor Jones, two extremely intelligent faculty members at Pitt, as well as the Haller cohort, was honestly a little scary at first. It was our first sense of college! As time went on, these people slowly started becoming family. I was personally able to connect with so many different perspectives and ideas from our cohort. Learning about Irish culture and the Troubles felt less like a “homework” assignment, but rather a way to immerse yourself in Irish culture. I was personally able to grow as I used to think only in one direction, that whatever was the most straightforward path would be correct. But no, the path that will get you to where you want to be is ever-changing, and it’ll have many detours; that’s the beauty of it.
Professionally, I feel much more confident stepping into my first year at Pitt Business! We learned about the EIR’s that are present at Pitt, and I’ll make sure to have meetings with them! I’m still very much exploratory with my majors, but with a hint of direction, so the insightful conversations with them will make a big difference. In fact, the Haller program introduced us to many of the EIRs, such as Joe Pietropola and Kathy Foody-Malus! Through Haller, we learned about much more than Irish culture and consultation. The opportunities present at Pitt are boundless, and I cannot wait to step into this next chapter of my life! Thank you, Pitt GEO, and H2P!
