Today we got the opportunity to visit the Irish Design Center, which is an Irish gift shop located in Oakland. The owners of the shop, Tom and Maura, taught us about the history of both Ireland and their shop. They source all of their products for sale from Ireland, 90% of them actually being hand-crafted…
Tag: Madelyn Och
Learning and Exploration in the Hill District!
Today, we got the amazing opportunity to receive a tour of the Lower Hill District by Terri Baltimore. She taught us about the history of her community, and I found it especially interesting that the connectivity between its residents is so strong. She shared stories of both pain and hope, which were both extremely moving…
From Dick’s Sporting Goods to Dinner of Asian Street Food!
Today we got the chance to meet with EIR, Joe Pietropola, who has a deep history of working in retail, specifically at Dick’s Sporting Goods. What I found extremely interesting about Joe is that within his job, he was never confined to just one area of focus. Instead, when Joe wanted a new thrill and…
Connellsville or Carrigart??
Today we got the chance to visit Connellsville, which shares a lot of similarities with the town we are working with in Ireland, Carrigart. We first visited the Youghiogheny Stained Glass Factory, which is one of four factories located in the United States. We learned about the process of international shipping for the company’s glass…
City Steps and City Strengths
This weekend, we ventured to different parts of Pittsburgh and learned a lot about the history behind it. We started Saturday with a fun visit to the Strip District, where we played putt-putt before heading to lunch. We then headed over to the City Steps, more specifically Rising Main, where we climbed what felt like…
A Deeper Meaning To Charcuterie
Today we had a lunch session with Tierra Thorne, who is a Pitt Business EIR as well as a social worker and CEO of Blanket and Board. Blanket and Board is a business that provides charcuterie layouts for different occasions for people in the Pittsburgh area. Her food and its layout were stunning, but what…
My Mind!!
We started today with taking a StrengthFinders assessment and taking a tour of Sennott Square and the business department. To explain StrengthFinders, it is an assessment that takes your strongest talents and sorts them into themes, which provides great insight into the kind of person you are. My top theme that came out of the…
Rain Rain Go Away.
It has been a rainy day in Pittsburgh, but we still did a lot of great things today! We had our first meeting with our client, Majella Orr, from the Gteic co-working hub in Ireland. I am in the AI and the Future of Coworking Development team, which works directly with Majella. This team is…
Welcome to Pittsburgh!!
My name is Madelyn Och, and I am a part of the Haller program for the 2025 summer!! I am super excited to have the opportunity to study abroad in Ireland to gain academic and cultural experience! I am from Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, which is about 30 minutes north of Pittsburgh. I was a cheerleader…
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