Hey, everybody!
My name is Pedro Pablo Vallejo Ramirez, I am an international freshman here at the University of Rochester. I was born in Bogota, Colombia, but when I was three years old my family moved to Panama and I have lived there ever since.
Among my several interests, I enjoy reading (I'm a huge J. R. R. Tolkien fan), I do Crossfit, I like playing the guitar and listening to John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Christophe Mae and Ben L'Oncle Soul, and I absolutely love watching The Food Network.
Here at the U of R, I was accepted into the GEAR program (Graduate Engineering at Rochester), a combined admisison program in which you graduate in five years with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in an engineering field. I plan to major in chemical engineering and French, although I have recently developed an interest in optics (who would’ve known?).
The question I've been asked the most for the past three weeks is "Why did you choose the University of Rochester?" Every single time I answer I become ever more convinced of the excellent choice I made. I came to Rochester looking for a high-quality education, undergraduate research opportunities, and a flexible curriculum that could amalgamate all my interests. When I actually arrived on campus, not only did I find everything I came looking for, but I also discovered there was so much more to this University than just great academics. The warmth and friendliness of everyone I have met on campus, the surprisingly small ratio of students to faculty members (which resulted in every one of my professors knowing my name and my interests in the first week of classes!), the study abroad programs in several continents and the myriad of clubs and activities on campus make the U of R a true pathway to success.
During my senior year I read the admissions blog religiously, and I really felt identified with many posts. The blog was very helpful in calming my anxiety with the whole college application process; therefore I hope you will be able to find a small part of URselves [Get it ? 🙂 ] in my entries.
I am really excited to begin such an exciting part of my life here at the U of R and I am delighted to be part of such an amazing group of bloggers!