We still have yet to have our CSR class however I thought the article I read this week really related to the topics of our class. My reading covered Microsoft’s decision to require their suppliers to be net carbon zero by the end of the decade for positive environmental impacts. In doing so Microsoft will appeal to consumers whose goals align with this new policy and boost their company as a whole. I think this article relates strongly with our class topics because it showed how a business is prioritizing its shareholders too, not just its stockholders. Major companies like Microsoft are bound to have a large environmental impact. In many cases the impacts will affect those who are contributing to the amount of carbon emissions the least, which is obviously unfair. This move shows Microsoft cares about people who may not even be consuming their product but dealing with environmental impacts caused by large corporations like theirs.

We have not had our internship seminar class since the last blog post was due so I have not learned any new information, however, I have been able to apply what I learned in that class to my internship. One example of this is when my boss had previously offered me a coffee on the first day of work I decided. After learning in this class that accepting a coffee is actually the correct social custom here, the next time my boss offered me coffee I accepted and we spent a solid 30 minutes conversing and getting to know eachother better. This turned into a really positive experience and I am really glad I learned this is the correct way to approach this interaction in Italy, I wish it was more common in the U.S.

I am so far really enjoying my internship! This week my boss, Emma, had me doing a lot of small tasks in preparation for learning how to use a website called Kickstart. Emma is really dedicated to expanding her brand into the American market and learning the best way to attempt to enter it. To help her in doing so, I have been reading a lot of case studies on small businesses in America who have scaled up successfully. Taking notes and jotting down common themes I have noticed through many companies is helpful for her so she can implement these methods into her own brand. This has also been helpful for my own learning because I now understand multiple new business terms I previously could not grasp as well as I can now.

This weekend was so amazing in regards to travel opportunities. On Saturday we traveled as a group to the alps where we spent the first portion of the day trying out different levels of a high ropes course. I really enjoyed the zip line parts of this but walking along the skinny tightrope was super hard and scary, especially on the fifth course. After this period ended we got back on the bus and traversed along a mountain until we reached our hiking path. This part was my personal highlight of the day. Towards the very end of the hike we reached a completely snow covered portion of trail where it just so happened to simultaneously become very narrow with a daunting drop off. The group that got to continue the hike and see the lake experienced many laughs as we all struggled and slid back down the hill! I had a super packed weekend and actually ended up doing another trip planned for Sunday. Ten of us decided to head south to Santa Margherita for an amazing beach day! This little town was so cute and had a lot of fun shops to pop into. The weather turned out to be so much nicer than the forecast which was a great surprise and meant we got to spend the day swimming and hanging out on the beach! I love getting to see smaller and less touristy attractions in my time here so I am super happy we got to venture here today!