This week, we did not meet in person for our corporate social responsibility course, however, we were still very busy with work for the class this week. On Monday, we watched the Film “Erin Brockovich” on our own time, which was about a water pollution court case. I enjoyed watching the film and I thought that it related strongly to our class. Then on Wednesday, Professor Gupta canceled class so that we could work on our final presentations for his class, which are due next week. My group of myself, Dane, and Sam Haft, is almost finished with the paper and we have begun making the presentation slides. Next week in class we will be presenting our slides and will have a short Q&A after each group’s presentation.

This week for my internship, Sachi and I went to the office on Tuesday and worked remotely the rest of the days. Our boss was back from his business trip and he said he had a great time. On Monday, we continued working on TikTok videos, mostly editing them. Then, on Tuesday, in the office, we created a TikTok page for the South Garage bistro and finally posted our first TikToks! We posted one on the main South Garage account that introduced the South Garage boutique and what it has to offer, and we posted one on the bistro account that showcased the chef making their octopus dish. The rest of the week, we posted a few more TikToks and continued filming/editing other ones. Sachi and I were also assigned a presentation where we look at and analyze what other boutiques are doing on TikTok successfully, and made a presentation showing our findings, which we will present next week.

My traveling this week was again mostly on the weekends. My main traveling took place from Saturday to Monday when Dane and I went to Catania, Sicily. We arrived in Sicily Saturday morning and were able to explore the city of Catania before meeting my girlfriend Ana and her friend Nicole for dinner. We got seafood for dinner and it was very tasty! On Sunday, we took a walk to the beach, however, it was slightly underwhelming so we did not stay for long. We then were able to eat more food and explore the city some more before our second night of dinner where Dane and I got more seafood. The seafood in Sicily was great since it is fresh from the ocean. We left Sicily on Monday morning and came back to Milan. The rest of the week I did not do any traveling except for going out for a few dinners, I was particularly busy this week since we had 2 presentations and papers to work on.

This week, we had our corporate social responsibility course with Professor Gupta on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday, we began by discussing Sam Rosen and Bella’s Wall Street Journal articles. Sam’s was about the role that Goldman Sachs’s played in Silicon Valley Bank’s final days. Bella’s was about Virginia Tech’s bias response team and how it relates to the first amendment. After this discussion, we broke up into groups and filled out the in-class group worksheet on “The Civil Action”, which we watched last week. We then came back together and discussed the movie and these questions. We first discussed Lilli’s and my Wall Street Journal articles in class on Wednesday. Lilli’s article was about how Netflix subscriptions jumped as their U.S. password-sharing crackdown began. Mine looked at the “awkward” partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI. After this, we watched a video about the harmful aluminum mining in the Amazon rainforest. We then split up into groups and discussed questions about the Apple case study, then came back and 2 groups debated whether or not Apple should have the same working standards globally or if they should be different.

This week for my internship, my boss was out of the office on a business trip so Sachi and I worked remotely. Although we were remote, we still got a good amount of work done and new content made. Since we filmed lots of videos last week, this week we edited and added voiceovers and/or music to the videos from last week. We had to send them over to our sponsor for approval to post the completed videos and he will get back to us on them. So, we hope that next week we get final approval from our sponsor and the main South Garage owner and can begin posting the videos that we created. I think this whole process of making videos is taking a bit longer than it should, but our sponsor wants to see each of our videos before posting them, and tell us if anything needs to be changed, which does make sense. However, I think we had another productive week and I feel like my time is flying by!

This week I was again able to travel mostly on the weekends, but I had a great time when I did travel. On Sunday, it was our last day in Naples so we walked around the city and saw the ocean, went shopping, and got food. During the week I did not do much traveling except for going to Chinatown, Milan on Monday after Professor Gupta’s class. We went to a hot pot restaurant and the food was great! After dinner, we got bubble tea which was also tasty. It was a different experience for me in Chinatown, especially at the restaurant because most Chinese restaurants I have been to have many different ethnicities of people there, but in this restaurant I was one of the only people there who was not of Asian ethnicity. I did however enjoy this cultural immersion and had a great dinner there. Finally, on Friday I did some shopping in Milan and bought some clothing. Overall, I had another exciting week of travel and I am glad I have been able to travel so much!

This week, we had our corporate social responsibility course with Professor Gupta on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday, we began by discussing Caroline and Neave’s Wall Street Journal articles. Caroline’s was about Vivek Ramaswamy, the anti-woke presidential candidate who wants to crush ESG and gut the fed. Neave’s was about how the White House is preparing for the possibility that the Supreme Court could kill the Student Loan Forgiveness Plan. After this discussion, we discussed a few articles that we read before class. The last part of the class on Monday consisted of us separating into our groups and discussing points of why we think the 2019 Business Roundtable statement was empty rhetoric or not. We then came back and two groups debated the subject, after being given their stance to defend from Professor Gupta. In class on Wednesday we discussed Emily and Jimmy’s Wall Street Journal articles. Emily’s article was about how cloud seeding has made a comeback as a solution to drought. Jimmy’s was about how Allstate and other home insurers have stopped selling new home-insurance policies in California because of the wildfire risks. We then watched the movie “Civil Action”, which was very interesting and I thought related to our class very well.

This week for my internship, I went into the office on Tuesday and worked remotely the rest of the days. On Tuesday, our boss Federico was not there but he gave us some tasks to complete. Sachi and I were in the South Garage boutique most of the day. We made 3 more videos for their Tiktok that should again be posted next week. I was also able to model the clothing again in one of the videos. In the other two videos, we filmed multiple types of their Red Wing boots and their Tela Genova selvedge denim. We did a voiceover to these videos when working remotely the rest of the week. We also were able to edit the rest of the videos we made while working remotely. After making these 3 videos, Sachi and I went back upstairs to our office a discussed future marketing plans with the 3 other interns. Overall, it was another productive week and I am continuing to learn more each week!

This week I was again able to travel many places both in Milan, and outside of Milan. On Sunday, I went to Florence with Le, Dane, Tiffany, and Emily. My girlfriend is studying abroad in Florence as well so I was able to see her while we were there. We went to the top of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral and had a beautiful view of the city. We also got to go see Michaelangelo’s David which was amazing! We did some shopping and went to Trattoria Zà Zà for dinner, the steak was some of the best that I have had. During the week I was not able to travel much with classes and my internship. On Friday and Saturday Dane, Le, Tiffany, and I went to Naples. On Friday we were able to go see the catacombs in Naples and on Sunday we went to see Pompei. These were both very interesting to see. Overall, it was another fun week of travel and I have been enjoying everything I have been able to see and do.

This week, we had our corporate social responsibility course with Professor Gupta on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday, we watched the documentary titled “The Corporation”, which is the movie that was made to follow the book “The Corporation” which was also highly recommended to read for our class. The documentary looked at large corporations’ power and influence in shaping the economy, politics, and society. On Wednesday, we began by talking about Tiffany and Sam Haft’s Wall Street Journal entries. Tiffany’s was about Merck challenging the U.S. government’s new powers to negotiate drug prices. Sam’s was about companies’ new cause of dodging the culture wars. Professor Gupta then handed out papers with different questions for each group to answer, and we spoke about these until the end of class. 

This week for my internship, I went into the office on Tuesday and worked remotely the rest of the days. On Tuesday, Sachi and I were in the South Garage boutique most of the day. We made some content for their Tiktok that should be posted next week. I was able to model the clothing in one of the videos which I found fun! After making a few videos, we were given a new presentation to make. We had to do a deeper analysis of 6 competitors of South Garage and identify each of their strengths and weaknesses. We will present our findings to our boss next week. Overall, it was a productive week and I think we got a good amount of work done. I am learning more each week through my internship!

This week I was able to travel many places both in Milan, and outside of Milan. On Sunday, I went to a local flea market near the outside of Milan. It was quite a culturally immersive experience, I had to put my Italian language knowledge to use as nobody there spoke any english! I was able to buy a few cool pieces of clothing. Also on Sunday, we went to see the Duomo which was a beautiful experience, the view of the city from the top of the Duomo was amazing! On Sunday night, we went to see AC Milan play Verona FC in their last game of the regular season. AC Milan won 3-1 and it was a great game! After the game, Ibrahimovic, one of the greatest soccer players of all time announced his retirement in person, I could not believe we were able to witness this! Overall, it was a super fun week of travel and I cannot wait for more travels this coming week.

This week, we had our corporate social responsibility class on Monday and Wednesday. During class, on Monday, we began class by having Corinne and Le present their Wall Street Journal articles which they wrote about. Corinne’s was about how Disney says that Governor DeSantis’s allies are “Weaponizing the Power of Government”, and Le’s article was about how shareholder activists dragged companies into U.S. culture wars. We debated 2 different points about corporate governance. On Wednesday, Bryan and Sachi shared their Wall Street Journal articles with the class. Bryan spoke about how California has taken on candy makers with a bill that opponents call the ‘Skittles Ban’, and Sachi’s article was about how a TikTok ban was signed in Montana. This topic related well to what my group will be writing our final paper about. Then Professor Gupta gave a lecture about corporate governance and we answered some of the questions from our homework. Overall, I enjoyed our first full week of class and I like how Professor Gupta runs it.

This week I worked remotely for South Garage on Monday and Wednesday and went into the office on Tuesday and Thursday. On Monday I worked on a presentation that myself and 3 other interns did where we learned a bit more about the motorcycle industry in Europe. This was to help us get a better understanding of what we will be doing and why we are doing it. We analyzed the European motorcycle market as a whole, then we looked at South Garage’s competition, and their customer segments. We got to present our findings in the office on Tuesday. Then on Tuesday, we broke up into separate groups for different parts of the business. Sachi and I will be working on the South Garage Boutique, and we were told to do another presentation that looked at different ways to market the boutique to different ages. This is what we worked on remotely on Wednesday. We then presented our findings on Thursday and began experimenting with different approaches to how we will go about making the content. Overall I had a great time working this week and I am looking forward to making content to market the boutique next week!

This week I did just as much traveling as the last! On Sunday, Ian, Le, Sam, and I walked around Milan and went shopping. After getting breakfast at a cafe, we went window shopping at a few designer stores. We then went to Uniqlo and each of us got a few pieces of clothing. During the week I did not travel much besides going to a few dinners. I also went to a secondhand store called Bivio and got a lightweight black jacket. Then, on Friday we all went to Verona and did a wine tasting/lunch at Montresor, followed by a guided tour of the city of Verona. We had a great time! Finally, on Saturday, Dane, Le, and I went to Venice and walked around as well as did some shopping around the city. We also went to the top of Scala Contarini, which was a beautiful spiral staircase in Venice. I had lots of fun traveling this week and I am looking forward to continuing my travels in the upcoming weeks!

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.