Sophie Lin's Blog #5: June 13th, 2024 | 2024 Lehigh-in-Milan with Professor Gupta

(1) Academic Enrichment via Professor Gupta’s Corporate Social Responsibility course

This week when researching corporate governance for my two companies, I found it fascinating how publicly accessible all the documents were. Having never delved into this area before, I hadn’t realized the extent to which these resources are available to anyone interested. Corporate governance reports, board meeting minutes, executive compensation details, and annual reports are all readily accessible, offering so much information about a company’s operations, strategies, and ethical standards. This transparency not only provides insights into the company’s decision-making processes and accountability but also highlights the emphasis on stakeholder engagement and trust. The availability of these documents underscores the importance of openness in corporate practices and how much one can learn about a company’s internal and external workings through them.

(2) Internship Seminar

Something I found very interesting in the seminar that week was the conversation of values in Italy as I have seen first hand examples at my internship. We discussed the power of family, prevalence of childhood friend groups, and national pride when it comes to sports. One of my coworkers has talked with me about these topics, describing how their views differ from ours. He explained that his family is the most important thing to him and tat his home is a special place where he would never bring anyone but his closest friends to. Which brought the conversation to his relationship with his childhood friends. Unlike our culture, his first few friends growing up have stuck together throughout their lives and will continue to stay close as they age. It was interesting to learn about these cultural differences in class and have it shared with me by my coworker.

(3) Actual Internship

This week I worked on a business model for Sospesa. This included the financials for the upcoming year to keep the program running smoothly from September to December and January to July. Since donations this past year have been lower than usual, I created an excel sheet that determined the total amount of euros needed to create full boxes of food as well as half full boxes. Along with this, I started a document outlining all the roles in the program ranging from the target audience to types of funding opportunities. I think this document is key to the program running smoothly as they have no concrete system in place to make everything run smoothly. While going with the flow might work for now, it certainly won’t work in the future if they hope to have a sustainable program throughout the year.

(4) Cultural Immersion through group and personal travels

This past weekend we visited Rifugio Tavecchia which is a family run cabin. Upon arrival we were greeted with a traditional mountain meal which was wheat pasta with potatoes. You could feel the sense of family as the kids were helping bring out food, refill drinks and help clean up. When we went for the hike the second day, we stopped at a small cafe that was also family run. The space was collaborative and cozy with games and family photos everywhere. It has been enriching to learn and see how often children grow up and emerge in the family business from a very young age. The bonds between family in this country is something that is cherished and something that shapes the people here.