ISG_RSAP 2017_Stewart

MY RSAP EUROPE EXPERIENCE
Rachel Stewart

MILAN & PARMA
Once I landed, I got right into visiting
companies and exploring the beautiful
city of Milan. I learned about Da Vinci
and the Renaissance’s influence on
Milan through its art, architecture, and
infrastructure. For company visits, I went
to Arup, Goppion, Dallara, and a
winery. Each of these companies
related to my freshman engineering
experience through the use CADD,
teamwork, and criteria and constraints.
In my free time, I took time to go to the
Duomo, explore the canals, and eat
authentic gelato.

GENEVA
From Milan, we took a train to Geneva,
Switzerland. The city of Geneva seemed to be
a mix of Italian, French, and German culture
with its own twist. Much of the city had a
Gothic influence as seen through its churches
and architecture. On our first day, we got our
first taste of Swiss food through chocolate and
fondue. Geneva
We visited CERN and its particle collider. It was
amazing to see so many different types of
engineers working together from a variety of
countries.
In my free time, I visited the United Nations
headquarters and spent my time on the
lakeside enjoying the spectacular views that
Lucerne had to offer.

ENTLEBUCH BIOSPHERE
On our way to Lucerne, we stopped in the
biosphere for most of the day. I learned
about Swiss countryside. People there focus
on sustainability and the preservation of
tradition and nature. I went to a market
there and bought handmade goods from
region. I went to a cheesemaker and
learned the complex process of how cheese
is made from all the local ingredients of the
area. My favorite thing I did in the
biosphere was go on a barefoot hike in the
mountains where the views were
spectacular. The biosphere was one of my
favorite places on the trip.

LUCERNE & GRIMSEL
POWER PLANT
After going to the biosphere, we arrived
in Lucerne for the weekend. In Lucerne,
the views were beautiful from the
lakeshore to the top of Mt. Pilatus. I
walked around the canal and lakeshore. I
traveled up Pilatus in a gondola and did
a ropes course with everyone. On the
way back, I appreciated views from the
Mt Pilatus’ cogwheel car and from the
cruise on Lake Lucerne.
At Grimsel power plant, we saw how a
complex system of run-of-the-river dams
powered the whole valley by using the
glacial runoff and the river in the valley
while preserving its natural beauty.

MUNICH
I spent the last couple days of the trip in
Munich, Germany. Germany was very
unique. I went to the Hofbrauhaus and
biergartens with tradition music and food.
We sung and danced at the biergartens
with the locals. At the Dachau
concentration camp site, we took time to
reflect on the past and prevent from what
happened there from happening again. It
gave me insight how German culture has
changed. One example of this is that
government buildings are built with glass
around them to show the government is
transparent. I visited the BMW museum
which showed the progression of the car
industry and how the company has come
to today. In my free time, I went to the
Hofbrauhaus and toured the city by bike.

SALZBURG
On our day trip to Salzburg, Austria, we visited the
town’s castle and learned of its history. We toured
the Festung Hohensalzburg, which was the city’s
fortress. We also saw many sites where The Sound
of Music was filmed while singing the hills are alive.
In the afternoon, we went to a salt mine outside of
Salzburg. Besides CERN, the salt mine was one of my
favorite places I visited. We put on our salt miner
suits and rode on a ca deep into the mine. We slid
down the slides and learned on our tour the history
of the salt mine and how the salt is extracted and
sold. It was amazing to think how crucial engineering
is to the operation since it is entirely underground.

CULTURE
Each place we went to had its own unique
culture that stood out from the other. In
Italy, the culture was evident through their
art and architecture with the Renaissance
influence when I was in Milan. Swiss
culture was a mix of many cultures
together, but it distinctly focused on
sustainability and preserving their
countryside and mountains that define
them as seen in the biosphere and
Geneva. German culture was very lively
and proud as seen through the festivities
of the Hofbrauhaus. The German culture
is also changing as seen through new
buildings after the events of World War
II. All of these cultures together focus on
producing quality products such as cars,
fine products, and food products.

FOOD
As expected, the food was amazing in every
country we went to. I traditionally do not
drink coffee, but Italy’s expresso has now
made me a coffee drinker. The Italian pizza
and pasta was much better than what we
have home. I will never have the gelato at
Turner after going to Italy. Switzerland’s
food was a mix of French, Italian, and
German food, which is much like their culture.
I also picked up about 10 pounds worth of
Swiss chocolate. I was originally skeptical of
German food, but ended up loving the
schnitzel and pretzels. I’m pretty sure I
gained 5 pounds from this trip, but the food
was worth it.

ENGINEERING
ABROAD
Through visiting the various
companies, I learned a lot about
global engineering and the
engineering process. The engineers
use the same design process and
tools we use in class on a global
level. Many of the products being
made are on an international level,
and communication is crucial in every
operation. Within the countries, some
of the engineering practices were
different but incorporated core
things we had learned in America.
Switzerland and Italy had some of
their cultural values within their
practices. Germany was very modern
and innovates to get the job done.

Overall, I met and interacted with
a lot of great people in each
country I went to. As well, I made
some very good friends on the
trip. I made sure to get outside of
my comfort zone. We put on hard
hats while we learned and
explored together.
This trip helped me to grow as an
aspiring civil engineer and
person. I saw examples of civil
engineering in expected places
like the Grimsel dam and
unexpected like CERN. I was able
to relate my own experiences to
these new ones. In the future, I will
be able to use these experiences
when I study abroad again. I am
so happy I was able to go on the
RSAP Europe trip.
MY EXPERIENCE AND FINAL
REFLECTIONS