Penn Abroad Ambassador Melanie Chen

Ask me about...

• Being abroad and traveling alone for the first time

• Travelling to different countries while abroad

• Making friends with locals

My experience abroad...

The opportunity to go abroad at the National University of Singapore led me to realize that I am much more open to working abroad professionally in the future in my career. I am more open to working for a few years in Europe or Asia than I first anticipated and I believe this was due to having such a positive experience in Singapore. I have always loved travelling so my experience with GRIP helped to solidify my passion for exploring new cultures and environments and helped me realize that I am open to working abroad outside of the US once my professional career begins.

Other highlights...

• Conducted ML research at a computer science lab and learning about Python and MatLab

• Weekend trips to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand

• The friends I made within the program from other schools like John Hopkins University and University of Toronto

• The delicious food and beautiful scenery