Corinne Lyght’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

The first week of classes we learned more about Adam Smith and also had the opportunity to listen to an employee from Circularity talk about their company mission related to the environment. The presentation by Circularity was really important and one of the biggest takeaways from it was, “There are solutions to our problems. We just need to create a space for these ideas.” I thought that was really powerful and can be used in many different facets of life and society. We need to be open to new ideas and continue to challenge our thinking. Adam Smith was a prime example during his generation where he challenged thinking to continue to evolve and develop. It is clear that regardless of the generation and regardless of our location, we can continue to adapt and create solutions to our problems. 

The first 3 days working at Boutique NB, a company specializing in the management of short-term rentals, opened my eyes to the different rules and regulations that business must follow. In the US, sole proprietorships usually have the least amount of regulations in comparison to corporations. Here in Italy that does not seem to be the case. The owner of BoutiqueNB, Lucia Femio, has to navigate a series of bureaucratic regulations that make her job more complicated. It is interesting to see the high level thinking required for each decision made. I am working with different platforms than I have before, one being KrossBooking, which is a property management booking platform. It’s been exciting to see the level of freedom I already have to navigate the platform and converse with clients. It may not be as common in Italian culture to ask questions and need more “step by step” processes, but I feel like Lucia understands some of the differences between the two cultures and we have been able to find a balance between both cultures. This means that I have the freedom to do the assignments up to my interpretation, but always am allowed to ask Lucia for clarification. Hopefully as the internship continues I will continue to take more creative reign. 

This weekend I visited Lake Maggiore and Cinque Terre and they were both incredible experiences. It is so interesting to see how you can travel one hour in any direction and find something that looks nothing like Milan. A fun cultural difference that I have learned through my travel experience is that when you ask for the check after a meal, most of the time you are usually supposed to go up to the front of the restaurant and pay. In the US most sit down restaurants give you the check and process everything while you still remain at your seat. I think in the beginning a lot of the waiters just took our checks at the seat because we did not know any better, but at Lake Maggiore we were told that we had to go inside and pay, and I realized what we had been doing wrong. While it was something so small, I realized there are so many differences in the cultural customs. 

From our trip to Lake Maggiore!

This picture is from Caroline’s birthday. We all went and got dinner together and then got gelato.

 

This is Cinque Terre. We went to the beach on Sunday and we were able relax and explore the area.

Caroline Morgan’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

After months of anticipation, we’ve arrived! After landing in Milan on Monday morning and settling into Aparto, my Lehigh classmates and I were welcomed with the IES Welcome Dinner at Torre Branca. Here, we were able to meet IES staff and students abroad from other universities. During the first two days, we became familiar with Milan public transportation, toured our classroom locations, attended IES orientation, and did a test-run commute to our internship locations. My classmates and I also took Italian language classes learning basic words, phrases, and customs. We practiced the Italian we learned by speaking with students at Universita Catolica and by ordering coffee! After a few days of exploring Milan, I traveled to Lago Maggiore led by IES. It was a lot of fun spending time with my classmates while experiencing the beauty and history of the three islands of Lago Maggiore: Isola Bella, Isola del Pescatori, and Isola Madre.

 

I began my internship at Fin+Tech Startupbootcamp (SBC) this week – a startup accelerator that provides both financial and operational support to companies at their seed level. SBC is a 3-month program that fosters the growth of ~15 companies and connects them with mentors, investors, and partners. My first day consisted of onboarding and understanding what the values are as well as my role as an intern. I will be researching potential startups and guiding them through the application process as well as researching and contacting investors who provide seed-level investments. I was introduced to the database Crunchbase, which helped me to begin researching investors and startups. I look forward to forming relationships with the team at Fin+Tech SBC and making connections with innovative startups and investors.

 

During class this week, we learned more about Adam Smith and his belief that a free market, without intervention, is the ideal economy. During the in-class video surrounding Smith’s ideas, an analogy to the free-market system I found insightful was to park signs that read, “Please do not feed the animals” as doing this inhibits their ability to survive on their own. The “Smithian” idea to put a sign like this in Washington DC is to promote corporations (people) to be able to compete and thrive on their own. Also in class, I gained a new perspective from our discussions that a corporation could be considered simply as people – ranging from the C-suite to investors to employees. We began learning the responsibility those people have to one another, stakeholders, and the environment. Our class took a trip to Circularity, a Milan-based company offering consulting services on the implementation of a circular economy business model. During the visit, I was truly able to see the impact CSR has on society, and I am eager to further expand my perspectives further throughout the next 6 weeks.

 

View from my apartment in Aparto Giovenale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of Milan from Torre Branca at IES Welcome Dinner
View from Isola Bella at Lago Maggiore

 

Arianna Morataya’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023 

The classes we will be attending this Summer are Professor Gupta’s Corporate Social Responsibility course and Professor Amanda Swain’s Internship Seminar. As a transition into Gupta’s class, we watched two videos about Adam Smith who is recognized as the father of economics. Two of the books referenced in the videos were The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. During the first day of class, we discussed the free market and how countries navigate the economy to become successful. We also evaluated Smith’s views on government intervention and the presence of politics across corporations. As part of our homework, we are tasked to select articles from the Wall Street Journal and relate them to the theme of the class. Additionally, we have individual readings that prepare us for debates within the course and open discussion amongst our peers. For the Internship course, our group visited a sustainability consulting firm called Circularity. We learned about their mission to generate a circular economy by recycling and reusing all materials in the production process. This method aims to minimize waste and bring awareness to the impact businesses and individuals have on the environment. 

As part of my internship in Milan, I am working at a marketing consulting firm called Lexis Research. My first day was Thursday and I had an amazing time learning more about my team and tasks. The entire group even took me out to lunch to celebrate the start of my internship and introduce me to Italian culture. Since the office is just a five minute walk from the apartment building our group is staying in, every morning I go on a beautiful walk through Milan. For the first couple days, I have been reviewing data received from their marketing studies that are typically written in Italian. One of my tasks is to transfer data from the Italian report presentation to the English version. So far the client reports I have reviewed include Whirlpool, more specifically KitchenAid, and Europ Assistance. Although I have mostly been working with the finished reports, in the upcoming weeks I will have the opportunity to help them start their survey questionnaires and list of objectives. 

During the first week, our group has taken advantage of Milan’s expansive transportation system and have traveled to several places already. During orientation, we walked through Castello Sforzesco, a castle, to reach a park in Milan where we had one of our first meals in Italy with other study abroad students. On Saturday, we all traveled to Lago Maggiore to visit three islands and walk through the homes of the famous Borromeos family. The views were beyond beautiful and the weather was perfect for exploring the colorful garden on Isola Bella (one of the islands). Even as a large group of 25 students, we have managed to plan meals and attend late night activities altogether. We are constantly looking for new things to try and places to visit to make the most of our time in Italy. Throughout the month, I look forward to planning long weekends in southern Italy and other countries. We have even met other Italian students staying in our complex that we plan to attend activities with in the future!

Lago Maggiore Garden
First day of work at Lexis!
Night view from my bedroom window!

Ian Lashway Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

It’s finally time for summer in Milan! This trip is my first time traveling to Europe, and immediately upon arrival I felt a shift in culture. Even a large city such as Milan seemed to feel way less rushed and stressful as New York City, for example. Most nights so far I’ve eaten dinner out at restaurants, and the food in Italy has been even better than I could have imagined. I’ve also been to a few cafés and am learning how to order food in Italian. This Saturday, we traveled to Lake Maggiore and visited 3 islands on the lake. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to, and it was so much fun to spend time with all the other Lehigh students in the group! 

We kicked off our first class in Milan with a continuation of our discussion about how Adam Smith’s discoveries shape the foundation of our free market system. It’s very interesting to see the economy from this perspective nowadays in such a globalized and complex world. On Friday, we went to a startup company in Milan called Circularity, and they gave us a presentation about their company’s mission centered around Corporate Social Responsibility. Circularity consults companies to help them make their products and businesses more sustainable and efficient—to become part of the ‘circular’ economy. This was a good kickoff to our learnings in class, since we have discussed and read about the changing role of Corporations amidst environmental, social and political change. 

For my internship, I am working at Krein, a business to business marketing company. Thursday and Friday I worked virtually, and my first day in the office is on Monday, and I’m super excited! I am working alongside Sylvia, and we are tasked with doing market analysis and research for one of Krein’s client companies. So far, I’ve been learning about Krein as well as the company they’re consulting for, and will be starting the marketing consulting next week. I’ve learned so far that work, at least for my company, is pretty flexible compared to what I’m used to. Our boss gives us the option to come in person or work remote, so I will be doing a ‘hybrid’ work schedule. I can’t wait for what’s to come!

The campus of Universita Cattolica, a university in Milan that we are taking classes through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from outside my dorm in Aparto Giovenale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View down the Canal district after eating dinner.

Emily Sofio Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

For the first week of class, we watched a documentary on Adam Smith and took a field trip to Circularity, a business in Milan. The documentary discussed Adam Smith’s most famous novels “The Wealth of Nations” and “The Theory of Mortal Sentiments”, and how they were applied/have shaped society today. I think it is really interesting to see how much Smith has had a lasting impact on society, culture, economies, and businesses. On the field trip, we learned what Circularity is (an economy that runs from production to use to recycling). I have only been in Milan for five days, but I can already see how much the city cares about the planet’s health. They are very environmentally conscious, I have run into several accounts where corrections were made to someone about what to do with plastic, or what gets recycled. As an example, yesterday I was at a cafe. One of my classmates threw out their plastic water bottle. An employee from the bar took the bottle out of the trash and made sure the barista across the counter put it in the recycling bin. This sort of transaction would not take place in the US. 

 

This week I started my internship on Thursday. I am working for an NGO called Alice for Children. They mainly support children, women, and families in the Nairobi slums (Kenya). The organization has been running since 2006, and they have started many projects such as long-distance adoption, culinary school (college), primary school programs, secondary school programs, a school of music, daycare facilities for mothers to have the opportunity to continue their education, and much more that I have yet to learn about. Today (Friday) was World Menstrual Hygiene Day. Alice for Children was given a table at the festival in Milan celebrating this day, and I got to help out! We raised awareness and money that will be used to provide young girls in Nairobi with menstrual products.

 

For the first week of Milan, I tried my hardest to a: defeat my jetlag, and b: be able to get around the city’s public transportation system without getting completely lost. While I still walk the wrong way down the street sometimes, I have pretty much figured out the Metro system, and I know how to get from the Aparto to my internship office to Professor Gupta’s class 🙂. I still think it is unreal that I have to walk across the Duomo on my route to the office. Our class had two Italian survival lessons this week where we had the opportunity to learn some basic Italian. After these classes, I have been attempting to communicate when I can in Italian, and can confidently order breakfast in cafes!

 

Working with Alice for Children at a festival!
The first meal I ordered completely in Italian!
Eating lunch at Lago Maggiore!

 

Jon Osika’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

Immediately after arriving in the Milan Malpensa airport I felt surrounded by a culture unlike that of America. It’s not very often I find myself in another country and when I do, they rarely speak a language other than English. Our first few nights have been spent eating, drinking, and above all else, walking to burn off the five meals we’ve eaten. With a trip to Lake Maggiore yesterday, I got to see the natural beauty Italy has to offer in contrast to the urban space we’re housed at. The lakes around my home in upstate New York are something I’ve appreciated my whole life, so seeing a Maggiore top them all was really special. Seeing Italy’s diverse mix of landscapes solidified the idea in my mind that I could live here for a significant portion of my life!

The introduction class to our CSB course set a strong precedent for the remainder of the term. In the first class alone, I began questioning some of my own core values after some discussion with my classmates. Considering it only took one class to put me deep into this state of reevaluation, I’m confident by the end of the term I will have reformed my views on business ethics. After doing the first Wall Street Journal entry assignment, I learned quite a bit about the concept of greenwashing and the reduced liability faced by sustainable tech investors during today’s ESG boost. I’m very excited to continue discussions with my classmates about the relevant topics we find ourselves interested in.

Dane Ishibashi and I have been tasked to work with Gruppo Tempocasa, a real estate holding company, in their customer care department. Our core objectives are to: provide a comparison between Italian and American real estate, analysis of current workflows, and a benchmark comparison of Italian competitors. Dane and I met the staff on Thursday of this past week and were greeted with smiles and some well-intentioned broken English. Thankfully, there are about four employees with substantial English knowledge that Dane and I can communicate through. It was very interesting to speak with the employees about some of the cultural differences we have between our countries. Dane and I are both very excited to both build relationships with the other employees and provide valuable information to the corporation.

Finding my Italian roots by making this sandwich using ingredients from the local mini mart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rocky beach in Monterosso our group spent Sunday on

 

 

 

 

A peacock (left) trying to intimidate Bryan Landadio (right)

Katerina Bazarko’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

This week in class we discussed that while Adam Smith’s ideas continue to shape our understanding of economics, he would likely express disappointment with certain aspects of the modern economic system. Smith placed importance on the ethical dimension of economic behavior. He believed that self-interest should be balanced by moral considerations and emphasized the role of empathy and social responsibility. With countless corporate scandals, growing income inequality, and environmental degradation, Smith would likely be disappointed by the pursuit of short-term gains at the expense of long-term sustainability and societal well-being. I believe that Smith would urge society to strive for a more balanced approach that aligns self-interest with the broader interests of society and upholds the principles of fair competition, ethical behavior, and informed decision-making – and that he would be a huge fan of our corporate responsibility course!

 

My first day in the office was this Thursday and it was a very interesting experience. It is evident that Italians are more easy going with their work schedules and appear to be less uptight than we are in America. Our boss told us that we should arrive around 9:30 AM, but that this was not necessarily a strict start time and that there could be days he isn’t even in the office at that time himself – because he will be playing tennis. Because he enjoys playing tennis, our boss also invited us to play with him in the mornings before work. I am excited to play tennis in Milan, but after reflecting on the experience I realized that on the first day of a new job in America one’s boss does not usually give them a loose start time and also offer to play a sport together outside of the office. Despite not receiving any specific assignments on my first day, I am very excited to actually begin my internship at Gen-USA.

 

The first thing that I have thoroughly enjoyed is the food in Milan. Of course we know that Italy is known for its pizza, pasta, and cappuccinos, but I have been pleasantly surprised by all the outside cuisine the city offers. On our first full day here, a few classmates and I went to a restaurant near the IES orientation center. At this restaurant I decided to order a burger – classic American style – and was very impressed with the meal. Additionally, I have had a couple asian meals and they have all been 10/10. It is clear that like most cities in America, Milan is indeed a melting pot of many different people and cultures. I have additionally enjoyed seeing the fashion of all the local people. Although it is commonly proclaimed how fashionable Europeans are, it has been different for me to experience this fashion in person and at an older age than when I have previously traveled in Europe. I am excited to find clothing markets and try and step out of my fashion comfort zone throughout our 6 weeks here. 

First Asian meal in Milan! Delicious!!!
Classic Italian breakfast – Margherita Pizzatta & cappuccino.
Cool street on the side of Gen-USA office – where I am interning!
My fellow Gen-USA interns and I outside our office!

Will Ironside’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

We had our corporate social responsibility course once this week (Wednesday). During class, we watched the second video about Adam Smith entitled “Ideas That Changed the World”. The video discussed Smith’s impact on China, how ethical businesses showcase the morality Smith said was critical, and it used eBay to demonstrate that markets can thrive through the use of the participants themselves. We then talked about the video and what people found interesting in it. What I particularly found interesting and could relate to was when they were talking about the company eBay because I have an eBay store and the platform is a great example of a free market where individual buyers and sellers can make transactions from anywhere in the world. We were not able to get through all of the material planned for the class, but we will be finishing it next week. Overall, I enjoyed the first class and I am looking forward to next week’s classes.

This week I did not start my internship at South Garage until Friday, however, I was still able to learn a lot about the company on the first day. Upon arrival, Sachi and I introduced ourselves to Federico and 2 other IES interns. We then took a tour of South Garage and I thought it was a beautiful space. Federico showed us to our office upstairs and we sat and talked about the goals and expectations that South Garage has for us. We have a collaborative presentation due on Tuesday in which we will analyze their overall market, identify relevant trends, analyze their competition, and identify their customer segments. It was a great first day overall, I am very excited to be working with them this summer and I am looking forward to the following weeks!

This first week in Milan has also been full of social and cultural immersion. The first night at the welcome event there was the Branca Tower that we were able to go up in groups and see the whole city from a birds-eye view. The view was amazing, especially right at sunset! We also got to see the Duomo from the outside and it is beautiful, the detail on it is amazing. I would love to get tickets for a tour of it some point while I am here. The second night we were able to eat dinner in the canal district and hang out around there. There are lots of people that come out at night there and the energy was great. For most of the week, I stayed in Milan and although it feels like I did lots here, I realize that I’m just scratching the surface of what there is to do. Throughout the week, I ate at many different restaurants like Wang Jiao, Alice, Miscusi, Ramen Station, Caputo, Ai Balestari sul Naviglio Pavese, and more! I have enjoyed all of the food that I have been able to eat so far. On the last day of the week (Saturday), we took a day trip to Lake Maggiore which was certainly the highlight of my week! We got to go to 3 of the islands in the lake and see the gardens, the structures, and get a taste of the food. The views at the lake were amazing and got me to think about how blessed I am to be here in Italy.

A photo of the sunset and the three towers atop the Branca Tower.
A beautiful nighttime photo of the Duomo from the second night we were here.
The view from the last island we went to in Lake Maggiore, Isola Bella.

Tiffany Chen’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27, 2023

After a long and exhausting day of waiting in lines at the airport and sitting through eight hours on a plane, I finally made it to Milan, Italy! Struggling to fight my lack of sleep, I followed our group to various welcome events and orientations. The first week consisted mainly of introductory material such as a six-hour survival crash course in Italian, learning how to navigate the public transportation system, and getting situated with our internships. This means that I can now say and understand a little more than a simple “Ciao!” In Professor Gupta’s class, we continued our discussions about  Adam Smith’s theories and the subsequent impact they had on free markets and the economy as a whole. It is so interesting how influential and relevant Smith’s ideas are despite being formulated over two centuries ago.

Apart from attending classes, I am also interning at SuiteFood, a startup based in Milan aimed at making the Asian cuisine experience available to everyone. In the past, they have launched recipe kits and cooking courses as a means to accomplish this mission. What I am tasked with is creating content to promote their next launch of products. As a marketing major, I hope this experience will allow me to gain insight into how to attract an audience, decide what strategies to implement, and how to convert social media interactions to purchases. I am working with another Lehigh student, Lili, to tackle this job with our primary focus on Instagram and TikTok. So far we spent the first week discussing and planning what types of content to create and what messages we want to convey through them.

Regarding Milan in general, I must express the beauty of the city. The architectural marvels and the captivating fashion scene never fail to astonish me. The views here are so enchanting that I doubt I will ever tire of them. It is no surprise that Milan is renowned for excelling in these areas. On Saturday we took a day trip to Lago Maggiore and the scenery was nothing short of breathtaking. The beauty of the lake and islands left us in awe as we soaked in the picturesque landscapes before us. We took a boat to stroll around the islands, wander through the exquisite Palazzo Borromeo, and explored the meticulously manicured gardens, adorned with vibrant flowers, elegant statues, and whimsical fountains. I think it is safe to say that we all left with plenty of Insta-worthy pictures.

Seeing the Duomo for the first time!
Saw the skyline on the first day (pt.1)

 

 

 

Skyline (pt.2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albino peacock on Isola Bella!
The meticulously manicured gardens!

 

Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sylvia Barbu’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending May 27th, 2023

We have just arrived in Milan and the city is absolutely amazing! The streets are full of people living life and I’m mesmerized by the beauty all around. After just a few days, I’ve been able to get an understanding of the city and I’m learning to rely less and less on my google maps. My favorite part of exploring this week was the day we decided to walk to class instead of taking the tram. We pretty much stopped using any type of directions because we continued getting distracted by the beautiful monuments and narrow streets. Even though it took us an extra 30 minutes to get to class it was the best decision we could have made because we stumbled across a bakery that had the best focaccia bread. My friend Jimmy and I have become avid focaccia enthusiasts and we are planning on spending the rest of our trip finding the best focaccia in Italy.

This summer I’ll be working at Krein, a company that does digital advisory and CX for B2B industries. This was my first week at my internship and we jumped right into things. My partner, Ian, and I have been put on a project that Krein is just beginning. They are working with a new company that is developing and producing fast charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Krein has been hired by this company to build a website and create a marketing launch plan for this new product/service. My role this week is to get a good understanding of the clients wants and needs and gain some knowledge of the industry as a whole. Krein has already conducted some preliminary research about current competitors and begun creating mission and vision statements for this company. I will continue to conduct my own research and offer my insights on the current plan.  

This week in class, we had our first HW assignment which was to find a WSJ article and summarize and analyze it for the class. The article I chose discussed how JPMorgan is currently being targeted by Republican states over accusations of religious bias. Republicans fear that big corporations such as JPMorgan are growing too large and will soon control important environmental and social issues. At the end of the assignment we were asked to pose questions to the class and create a conversation about the topic. I asked the class “If you had your money held by JPMorgan and these allegations were proven to be true, would you move your money to a new bank”? I think this was a good question and article to get us thinking about our feelings towards corporations and their responsibility towards society which is the premise of our class. 

My first meal in Milan!

Day trip to Monterroso!

First night out with Neave, Sachi, and Lili!