I am super thrilled to travel to Milan and start with the courses! One of my biggest challenges while in college is staying aware and engaged in the current events in the world while focusing on school work. So a big expectation I have is that through the Corporate Social Responsibility course I will be able to engage in meaningful conversations that spark new ideas in my head. I love to discuss controversial topics and this class seems like it will foster a supportive environment to learn from one another and share. My goal is to share my thoughts even when my opinion seems to be challenged and be open to different perspectives and ideas. I believe that being uncomfortable is a powerful thing to learn from and I think this course will definitely have times where that is the case.

Within the Internship Seminar one of my expectations for myself is to better understand my strengths and weaknesses so that I can market myself in a way that stands out. As I get older, I see more of the importance of being able to market myself well to possible employers and I think this course will help me explore that and build my professional profile. Along with that I hope to learn from my peers and share experiences that benefit everyone. I hope that this course acts as a bridge between our academics and life goals. I want to strengthen my resume to showcase my skills and the work I have done throughout college so far. 

Since I have not had an actual internship before, I hope to learn what it is like in the workplace. I think it is a great starting point to get myself prepared for an actual internship for the following summer and give me more insight to the importance of professionalism. My expectations for the internship are not so much focused on the material I am learning but more so on the environment and learning proper etiquette and work life balance. I have confidence in myself that whatever I am tasked to do I will learn the process quickly to adapt. One of my hopes is getting better at asking questions. A lot of the time, I like to think I can just figure things out on my own but I want to explore a better balance of not being afraid to ask and doing things on my own.

This trip being the second time going outside of the US ever for me, I hope to keep an open mind and learn more about the culture in Milan. I want to fully emerge in everyday life and try new things that I might not have done. One thing that I am looking forward to is seeing first hand how much they enjoy life. I have always heard how amazing the work life balance is there so I’m hoping I can relax more than I would at home and just really enjoy my time there while learning as much as I can. Overall, I hope to experience as many things as possible, laugh with friends, and gain a new perspective.