Cohort 2 graduate Amanda Korwek is a civil engineering major at Lehigh University. Over winter break she traveled to Munich, Germany to take two courses and explore various types of architecture in the city and surrounding areas. Amanda sat down with us and talked about her incredible two-week journey abroad.
Why did you choose to major in civil engineering at Lehigh?
It’s actually pretty funny ... I really liked the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series when I was younger, and my favorite character was Annabeth. She is a daughter of Athena and had blueprints for various buildings on her cabin walls. I took an architecture class in high school and found it tedious and boring, so I switched into engineering and I loved it. My engineering professor helped me realize that civil engineering is sort of like architecture, but more science and math based, so I've wanted to do that ever since.
What attracted you to this particular study abroad experience in Germany?
I knew I wanted to do a winter program, because they are easier to fit into an engineering schedule than a semester-long program. I specifically chose Munich because the synopsis on the study abroad website said that it explored architecture, which I know is related to civil engineering.
What did you really enjoy about Munich?
Munich has a unique urban design. We walked pretty much everywhere and there were a lot of people on bikes or using public transportation, too. You can get pretty much anything you need within walking distance, and if you need to go anywhere further, you can take the subway. As someone who is interested in transportation and urban design, and the impact of these things on the environment, I really wanted to see a functioning city smaller than New York that didn't necessarily require a car.
What specifically did you explore while you were in Munich?
We explored numerous churches in the first few days because Munich is filled with them and they each have various designs, denominations, and histories. We also toured the Allianz Arena, which is where the Munich soccer team plays. This arena is cool because it's essentially a form of transparent plastic-like material that functions as an insulator but also allows light through. The arena can be lit up in numerous different colors (at one point McDonalds had an event here and the lights looked like a cheeseburger).
We also saw the Olympic stadium. It’s roof is a set of cables that hold up acrylic glass panels, and you can actually walk on the roof and feel it bounce because it isn't rigid. At Olympiapark (the stadium) we also saw the Olympic Tower, which I think was a TV tower when the games were held there. A lot of the other architecture we saw was very historical, which I loved. About 60 percent of Munich was destroyed in WWII, and it is also where Hitler began his rise to power. I saw a couple of places where he gave speeches. A lot of the buildings in Munich that were destroyed were rebuilt exactly as they had been, in order to preserve the history.
Favorite part of the trip?
My favorite part of the trip was visiting Zugspitze (the highest point in the Bavarian Alps). I love mountains, and the Alps are a lot different from the Appalachians, which is the only other mountain range I've seen. That experience made me decide that I want to see all the major mountain ranges in the world at some point in my life.
Would you like to visit again?
Absolutely!