Daniel Meola, of Cranston, Rhode Island, always wanted to be an engineer. Since a young age, he also began collecting Pokémon cards and watching anime, intrigued with Japanese media and culture.
“URI allowed for me to study both engineering and a language of my choice which was one of the best decisions I could ever have made,” said Meola. “For me, being able to go through college studying two things that I love was extremely satisfying.”
Meola is majoring in chemical engineering and global language and area studies with a concentration in Japanese through the international engineering program. He is currently studying abroad in Japan interning with Toray Mishima, a leading materials manufacturing company.
“Studying two things that I love was extremely satisfying.”Daniel Meola, ’26
“The plant specializes in polyethylene teraphthalate (PET) film used in making Dry Film Photoresist and numerous other important materials and products,” said Meola. He works within the new product development team and helps with film production and accompanying research and data collection.
Prior to the internship, he spent six months at Waseda University in Tokyo, where he took courses within the School of International Liberal Studies. While overseas, he was able to experience an immense number of cultural festivals, see numerous historical sights, experience a different facet of life through new societal norms and systems, and meet people from all walks of life. “I have had a once in a lifetime experience that has shaped who I am and how I will proceed in the future,” said Meola. “I credit this to URI’s IEP for allowing me to take this route during my college career when not many other universities do.”
While earning two degrees, he also participated in the College of Engineering’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers student organization, was a Japanese language tutor, made Dean’s List, and earned a GLAS Japanese Proficiency Award.
He will return to the United States in August and plans to begin searching for a job within the materials engineering field while also considering a master’s in chemical engineering or pivoting into business administration courses to further his knowledge within other fields.