I have not yet had Professor Gupta’s Corporate Social Responsibility course, however, this past week, I have been particularly observant with how well Italy treats its environment. My general consensus is that Italy has a solid effort in regard to energy efficiency and environment preservation. The first thing I noticed was that my apartment’s electricity only works if my swipe card is in a designated slot. This ensures that nothing is left on when I leave the apartment. Funny enough, it took me a solid 10 minutes and a bathroom break in the dark to figure this out. The next thing I noticed was all the forms of improved/public transportations. There are trams, trains, subways, bikes, scooters, etc. This helps Italy reduce their carbon footprint. The main issue with how Italy treats its environment was all the cigarette smoke flowing into the atmosphere and all the buds left on the ground.

Today was the first day of Professors Swain and Gupta’s Internship Seminar. First, we did introductions and all spoke about our internships. It was insightful to hear about all the different types of opportunities everyone has. For the remainder of class, we discuss the cultural differences between the US and Italy, specifically when it comes to the workplace. We talked about the importance of coffee, the flexible and laid back environment, the collectivist culture, in addition to much more. Professor Swain gave the class numerous tips on how to maximize our chances to succeed including, asking a lot of questions, being proactive, proving ourselves, and to never decline an invitation for lunch or coffee. Looks like I’m going to have to try coffee for the first time…

Today was also the first day of my internship. My classmate Livi and I are working with a company called Turbo Crowd. Turbo Crowd is a crowdfunding platform that helps companies fundraise money and market their products. Our internship will be all remote, which is something I have mixed feelings about. It will be nice to wake up later and travel less than everyone else, but I’m certain that I will miss out on several key components of going into the office like going to get coffee or lunch with my coworkers. Today I had the introductory meeting with the founder Claudio, a very charming and welcoming man. He explained that my objective this summer was to conduct market research on the current state of crowdfunding in Europe for 2024. Then, using the data, we would ask these companies certain questions, ultimately to sell them our service.

Although I have only been in Milan for a little less than a week, I have done and explored so much. One of my favorite parts so far has been the aperitivo. For those of you who don’t know, aperitivo is when you buy a drink from around the hours of 6-9 PM, before dinner, and it comes with unlimited finger food. Specifically, on Sunday, I enjoyed a wonderful spritz aperitivo with my long-time friend Luca, who is from Genova. Another one of my favorite parts was my experience at an AC Milan football game, in the legendary San Siro Stadium. The passion from the crowd was like something I had never seen before: non-stop chanting and banner waving for 45 minutes. They even lit flares after halftime and filled the stadium with smoke.

First Looks of Duomo

Legendary San Siro Post-Halftime Traditions

Homemade Charcuterie Aperitivo

Street Performers at Piazza Mercanti