Academic, career, or personal goals

Author: 
Trinity Key, Global E3 ENSEA- France'22

I studied abroad in Cergy, France at the Global E3 University ENSEA. While I did not find the academic program itself appealing, I enjoyed the hustle-and-bustle Parisian lifestyle that accommodates nearly 2.2 million people in the capital city. The high-speed trains and modern department stores that lined the cobble-stoned streets of Paris really amazed me. I loved having access to one of the oldest cities in the world that preserves its rich history, architecture, and cultural image while continually innovating, adopting technology, and keeping up with the latest global trends at the same time.  

Studying near Paris, the third-largest city in the world, has further strengthened my personal and career-oriented goals to live abroad for a period of time after I earn my undergraduate degree and start working. The cultural diversity in the classroom as well as in the city always sparked new ideas and inspiration in me. Seeing different faces each and every day in Cergy and in Paris reminded me why I pursue engineering in the first place: to help people. I also enjoyed the work-life balance granted to those living in Europe, and I took advantage of the benefits of having a total of four weeks of vacation throughout my semester. The French lifestyle is much more laid back than traditional work and school in the United States, so when I eventually start working I hope to strike a similar balance between my life and career. 

Studying abroad has also enabled me to take a lot of academic courses that I normally would not be able to take in such a volume at Pitt. I studied a plethora of topics this semester such as computer architecture, machine learning, and intermediate French language, which provided an inside perspective on how French culture teaches and accepts technology and innovation. I was also able to improve my French language skills a bit, which made traveling around Europe more convenient and less daunting. Studying at ENSEA has enabled me to also advance my graduation date one semester early, which I am excited about!

As for more personal goals, studying abroad has, of course, inspired me to travel even more than I already have and to treat each experience, good or bad, with the same emotional weight. There were definitely challenges in my study abroad experience and my academic program, but even if I had known the challenges beforehand, I would not hesitate to get on that flight once again. I hope that future me takes the same leaps of faith that studying abroad in Paris has inspired me to take.

 
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