Mary traveled to the Albania Project Center with 23 other students to complete her IQP. Her project, which she collaborated on with three students from different majors, involved the production of a documentary about the Drin River in Albania, with the intent to raise awareness about the pollution problems it faces. The students approached the project through research, interviews with stakeholders, and collaboration with their sponsor, Water Supply and Sewerage Association of Albania (SHUKALB). The project culminated with the students collecting footage, editing it into a documentary, and adjusting the process based on feedback from viewers.
Having never left North America before, Mary had the opportunity to experience and immerse herself in another culture firsthand through her IQP. Every day felt like an opportunity to experience something new, whether it be exploring a new section of the city, traveling to Albania’s rural and mountainous regions, or simply trying a new type of cuisine.
For Mary, the most valuable aspect of the IQP experience was working in a professional environment in a different part of the world. Not only did she gain the knowledge of how to work efficiently with a team on a long-term project, she also developed interpersonal skills through communicating with professionals from multiple countries and backgrounds, all of which she could never have experienced in a classroom.
- Managing the schedule and workload associated with a major and two minors, and maintaining Dean’s List throughout.
- Making new friends from all over the world through involvement in several co-curricular activities.
- Get an engineering position with a prominent company in the aerospace industry.
- Aspire to become an astronaut and travel to space.