Cassidy Davis is a recent graduate from the University of Pittsburgh, where she received two degrees, one in Communication and one in Digital Media. She also graduated with a Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies certificate and a minor in Theater. She has spent all three of her summers in college interning in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. She first interned for Susie Farris Casting, and then worked for CBS for two summers.

Hi, I’m Ally Buzzanga, a 25 year old postgraduate who’s passionate about cultural shock, urban environments, and fish & chips. I spent the fall of 2012 studying abroad in London and decided then that living and traveling abroad was something that I was passionate about. Study abroad programs are getting more and more popular in the US and that’s great. I’d love to see American culture fully embrace the “gap year” and “gone travelling” attitude that my foreign friends so casually mentioned.

Stormy Sweitzer is a consultant, everyday explorer, and co-author, with her husband/collaborator Will Swanepoel, of the YA environmental spy thriller The Drowning Shark: A Sierra Rouge Adventure (read our author interview here!). You can discover more of Stormy's writing at StormySweitzer.com.

Tera Sabatino is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a History major with a concentration in 20th century history and will be starting nursing school in the fall. She notes, "after studying abroad, I caught the travel bug and would love to spend time being a travelling nurse." 

Kirsten Maxwell runs Kids Are A Trip, which is a family travel resource sharing tips and advice about travel with children in hopes of helping other families plan their vacations. She notes, "We are a Chicago-based family with three boys who love to explore the world around us. We believe travel in itself is an education and we hope to educate ourselves and others as we share our experiences and adventures around the world."

Katarina Klett is a third-year chemical engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh. At school, she works as a calculus tutor in the Math Assistance Center (MAC) and as a Peer Advisor for the Swanson School of Engineering. When not at the MAC or in the engineering building, she can be found in the Adipose Stem Cell Center, where Katarina worked as a Student Researcher since the summer following her freshman year.

Maria Haase is an Online Marketing Consultant during the day and Travel Writer at night. Born and raised in Germany, she decided to move to the US, first as a High School Exchange Student and later to study Business in San Diego. Between degrees, Maria also spent 6 months doing an internship in Beijing, China, where she discovered her passion for Blogging and Online Marketing.

My best advice for students who are going abroad: 

(1) Secure your finances.

(2) Secure your finances.

(3) Know how to call the emergency number wherever you are.

Charles Kronk (charleskronk.com) is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in bioinformatics with focuses in German studies, international studies, neuroscience, computer science, web development, statistics, biology, chemistry, global health studies, European politics and theatre arts (because choosing any one thing was just too difficult).

Clara Dorfman is a senior majoring in philosophy and Italian at the University of Pittsburgh. She spent the summer of 2014 interning at Vatican Radio in Rome, and then the following school year studying at the University of Bologna. Before coming back to Pittsburgh this year for her final year of college, she returned to Rome for another internship, this time at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.