Emma was one of 24 students who traveled to the Albania Project Center to complete their IQPs. She and her team-three other WPI students-assisted a tourism company, Albania Rafting Group, with the development of an eco-adventure park aimed at providing additional revenue sources and growth for the company. The team conducted surveys to identify popular adventure activities among the target audience, researched how these activities could be implemented, and brainstormed possible locations for them on the sponsor's site.
The most valuable part of Emma’s IQP was learning how to work with a sponsor. This provided her with the opportunity to collaborate with partners from outside WPI, preparing her for real-world project experiences.
In addition to her project work, the experience that most resonated with Emma was a visit to the National History Museum in Tirana. Seeing artifacts of a culture far older than her own was fascinating, and the museum offered an interesting perspective on Albania’s transitions into and out of a communist regime. These pieces, left behind by the people who had died for a cause they believed in, were especially moving to her.