Practicum in Milan with an Italian Company
This week for my internship, I had my first day at the office with my partner Mason. We met with Arianna, who will oversee us during our internship. We had an in-person interview on Tuesday with Vice President Paola Albini. I was quite nervous during the interview but we established a good understanding of what we wanted to accomplish. Our first day of work was Friday. We learned about Casa Albini, an architecture and design project where participants are asked to come up with a modular and minimalistic style house while also keeping the surrounding of nature in mind. We were asked to research similar projects and see how these projects are funded and who funded them. Our goal is to connect with interested potential sponsors and ask them to provide resources and funding for this project. We were also asked to come up with ways to increase the company’s social media and marketing presence.
Academic course on corporate social responsibility
In class this week we watched the second part of the Adam Smith videos and continued to learn about corporations. We were also tasked to read Wall Street Journal articles and write down a summary and our reactions. This is a part of the class that I’m looking forward to because it gives me a chance to consistently read the WSJ. It’s something that I’ve been trying to do to improve my knowledge and understanding of the business world. At the end of our first class, Professor Gupta went over the questionnaire that the class had answered previously. when Professor Gupta went through our answer results, it really showed the inconsistency of our opinions not only as a class but perhaps society as a whole. We also visited Circularity, a sustainability firm that focuses on creating a circular economy by recycling and reusing wasted materials.
Cultural immersion
My immediate reaction from my first few days in Milan was how different the transportation system was. Everyone gets to their work by public transportation and it felt so much more efficient and widespread than how it is in the United States. The weather here is also lovely and I enjoy the various sights here in Milan. I also got to see the Duomo for the first time and was amazed by the detail and intricacy. One of the reasons I love traveling is to try out foods from different cultures. Since Italy is known for its spaghetti, I went to Miscusi, a pasta chain, and ordered spaghetti carbonara. Although ordering at restaurants has been a challenge for me, I will continue to work on my Italian and hope to fully order a meal for myself.
