In our CSR class this week, we presented our final projects!  My group’s presentation started out with a little bit of struggle with the technology in our classroom, but went relatively well after that hiccup.  Since then, we have been working on our paper and making some edits based on Professor Gupta’s feedback after our presentation.  As this class comes to an end, it makes me think back to the first week of the program, when I was complaining to myself about having to read pointless news articles.  I have now found myself reading the WSJ for my enjoyment after completing all of those assignments.  I never found myself as a news guy, but these stories are ones that all may have an impact on my life, so it is nice to be up to date with the times, and the news is always a great small talk topic.  I have enjoyed this class a lot, and it opened my eyes to a lot of the issues and topics in our world that I had no idea even existed.

This week in our internship seminar class, we also had our final presentations!  My group did a sustainability focused topic about how Milan and Italy and general are trying to fight to lower CO2 emissions, and how it has been going.  It was super interesting to see all the little differences between Italy’s plan and the plan of the US.  I think if both of them were to combine their plans, they’d both be in great shape! But what do I know.  We also had a little interview workshop where Professor Gupta gave us some of his best tips from his past and then let us practice with our friends.  I have already been in a few interview scenarios, but they were all on Zoom, so it was great to get some tips for an in-person interview, as the world will likely be going back to that very soon.  Overall, this class taught me a lot about the professional world in both Italy and back home, and I am thankful for all the knowledge and skills I have developed!

At TempoCasa this week, we have been putting on the finishing touches to a great seven weeks.  We have a lunch planned for the whole office this week as a farewell, along with coffee at a special restaurant.  We are filming one last video for their Instagram which is a little different than the typical real estate video.  Putting a funny twist on Americans living in Italy, we are making a little comedy video about the things that are looked at differently in Milan vs. America such as flip flops, shorts, eating while walking, etc.  It was a great seven weeks at TempoCasa and it has been an experience I will never forget.  Not only did I learn a lot about real estate in general, but I also built some lifelong relationships with not only my fellow interns, but coworkers as well.

This past weekend, a group of 14 of us rented a place in Split, Croatia.  The beaches and water were unbelievably blue and clear, along with the surprisingly warm weather which was nice for swimming.  It was super nice to get out of the city and have a nice relaxing weekend away.  We also spent the day on Saturday on a party boat which was super fun and had two stops where we could swim in the crystal clear water.  The only negative was our early flight on Sunday morning, but it was definitely worth it for the trip.  This was my first time outside of Italy this summer and it was interesting to see the differences.  Although we were on a beach, it was super refreshing to see everyone in shorts, swimsuits, and flip flops.  There were also a lot more foreigners from other places such as Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and more.  It was especially refreshing to have other English speaking people around.  Overall, it was a super nice way to end the trip with a large group of my friends in a fun city!

In our CSR class this week, we watched the movies Erin Brockovich and Civil Action.  I had never heard of either of these movies before this class,  but I really enjoyed both of them.  Aside from the great plot, both movies really made me think about the responsibilities of a corporation.  I regularly watch the popular series, Suits, which Civil action sort of reminded me of, except unlike Suits, Jan Schlictman was not perfectly successful on his own.  However, in the end, justice was served.  To me, it kind of went as a reminder to me how hard it is to convict a corporation, because they are not a physical entity.  Other than the two movies, my group and I have been working on our final project and it is definitely getting there.  We had a difficult time narrowing down on one topic, but once we have it has gone swimmingly.  We are excited to present next week!!

This week in our internship seminar class, we spent a lot of time on a resume building workshop.  The main focus of this was to add our Lehigh-In-Milan internships to our resume in an effective way and make sure that we can talk about them when asked in an interview format.  We then watched a public speaking video that was hilarious.  It seemed a little older, however, the jokes the guy was making were very funny.  There were also some great tips and examples comparing good speakers versus bad speakers, so the video was very helpful.  My group and I also have been working on our final presentation in this class.  Our topic is on sustainability and electric cars in Milan, and whether that has made an impact, so it has been very interesting.  We have interviewed our Italian friend Tito, who has been a great help to us all trip.

Continuing my internship at TempoCasa, things have still been going great.  We have continued to work on our database creation and are making great progress, along with brainstorming some funny ideas for a video to post on the Instagram page for when we are leaving.  We have also been planning a date for next week when we can all gather for a nice lunch before we head back to America.  Myself, Charlie, and Su have also kept becoming closer with not only each other, but everyone in the office, leading to a very strong bond, so this last week will be a little bittersweet as we head back.  Overall, it has been an unforgettable experience with a ton of learning, so I am extremely grateful to everyone at TempoCasa, and looking forward to one more great week to come!

Lastly, I have been continuing my travels, as last weekend all of the guys on the trip headed to Rome.  I obviously knew there was a ton of history and beautiful sights to see, but I was not prepared for all of the walking.  On Saturday, it was ~102 degrees which made it a brutal time to walk around.  On the other hand though, it was very worth it as the buildings like the Colosseum and the Vatican City were unbelievable.  You always hear about those famous things in school and books, but to actually experience them was a whole different experience as it didn’t even feel real.  This weekend, all of the guys and some of the girls have a large AirBnB in Split, Croatia to celebrate the last weekend of the trip.  We are all very excited for the beautiful beaches and water, and to celebrate a great 7 weeks!

 

This week in our CSR class, we introduced the idea of Stakeholder Capitalism,  the idea that corporations should cater to the needs and interests of all of their stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders, rather than just focus on increasing the wealth of their shareholders.  We watched an interesting debate between two professors, which was very thought provoking.  I had a tough time forming an opinion for our class assignment, as there are so many valid arguments for both sides, but my belief is that this idea of stakeholder capitalism is largely illusory.  I look forward to discussing this in the coming classes, as it is very interesting.  My group and I have also started to work on our final project, debating our topic, and organizing our paper/presentation.

At TempoCasa this week, it has been pretty similar to the preceding weeks.  We continued doing a lot of the same things, continuing on our summer long projects.  We are also continuing to build our bond with each other and the company as a whole.  On Monday, we talked a ton about our weekends and all caught up with each other over coffee which was a super nice start to the week that I really appreciated.  Sadly, my coworkers cannot attend the IES networking event this Thursday as they are busy, but I am excited to meet and network with all of the other companies participating in the IES internship program, and even meet students from other universities!

This past weekend, I stayed with my family in Venice.  I was shocked at how different this city was from the rest that I had already explored.  I had always heard that there were no cars and it was all waterways, but to see it with my own eyes was super cool.  They also are not joking about how the city might be underwater soon, as we got caught walking back from dinner one night and had to cross almost ankle deep water!  We sadly did not get the memo to have something covering our shoes, so they ended up getting soaked.  Overall, it was a great weekend, and super cool to see a city that might not be around later in my life.  This next weekend, I believe myself and the rest of the guys on the trip are planning to travel to Rome, which should be a great time as long as it’s not too hot.

In our CSR class this week, we continued to talk about the role of a corporation and how it affects the world around us.  The documentary titled “The Corporation” really opened my eyes to a lot of the bad things that corporations have done and continue to do in today’s world.  One thing that surprised me was how little we hear about some of the wrongdoings of large corporations that are still around and booming today.  My group and I are also starting to discuss and think about our final project.  Our topic is Big Pharma and Access to Life-Saving Drugs (Drug Pricing, Drug Affordability, Access to Drugs by UDCS-Insulin, COVID-19 vaccines, other life-saving drugs).  There are many different ways to take this topic, along with various opinions, so it has been very interesting to debate and learn about so far.

This week in our internship seminar, we discussed more about our individual identity and how it has helped/not helped us assimilate to Italian culture.  Through answering questions and selecting different statements, I was able to learn a lot about my personal character, along with my character relating to my integration into Italy.  One thing that stuck out to me was the noticing of Americans and their standout-ish ways compared to Italians.  My parents visited this past week, and I could sometimes feel myself become slightly uncomfortable when they would do something “American” in a restaurant.  I have only been here for around a month, but I feel that I have adapted to a lot of the Italian ways, especially considering my reaction to non-Italian ways in public.

Continuing with my internship at TempoCasa, myself, Charlie, and Su have been putting in the work!  This week we continued with our database creation and reorganization, but also toured a new apartment and filmed a new video in English, to help foreigners that are looking to rent in Milan.  At first, it’s always a little weird to be behind the camera, especially when I think about how this is for an Italian company and I know little to zero Italian, but once we get going as a group, it becomes much easier and a lot of fun.  We have also continued to bond as a group, as I have asked for a few recommendations on where to get a haircut in Milan.  I am a bit nervous about it, but my hair is getting long, so hopefully their recommendations work out!  I am also really starting to get used to waking up and commuting in the morning, which is something I sort of struggled with in the beginning, as I am normally quite the late sleeper.  I am excited to see what the rest of the summer has in store!

Lastly, I have been continuing traveling throughout Italy, trying to experience as much as possible in these short seven weeks.  This past weekend, my family rented an AirBnB in Bellagio at Lake Como.  I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but the views were absolutely breathtaking.  Taking the ferry to different parts of the lake was a ton of fun, and it was super awesome to explore.  One thing that was a little surprising to me was that at the towns on the lake, everything closes significantly earlier than in cities like Milan or Florence.  Most times, I go out to dinner around 8:30-9:00 PM in Milan, however, in Bellagio, most restaurants are closed at 9:30, and even have lines of people waiting to sit down at 7:00 when they open.  I had been used to eating later, so this was a bit of a surprise, but regardless, the food was still delicious and the trip was an unforgettable experience. This weekend I am planning on traveling to Venice and I can’t wait!

This week in our CSR Class, we discussed more about the free market system and capitalism. One thing that stood out to me was that even though as Americans, we pride ourselves on being free, we spend more on government regulations than many European countries’ entire GDP.  We also watched part one of “The Corporation” documentary.  Before watching the movie, I was extremely pro-business and corporation, however, it has opened my eyes a bit to some of the downsides and unethical aspects of corporations.  I had obviously known about the large corporations unethical acts such as Enron and more, but I now have a different perspective, seeing how many large corporations that are still around today have acted in the past.

This week in our internship seminar class, we talked more about the different and interesting aspects of each others’ internship placements.  I had figured most others would have similar experiences to myself,  but there has been quite a wide variety of jobs and experiences, opening my eyes up to the corporate world of Italy.  We also went through different characteristics of different businesses.  My personal favorite was the discussion about companies being task or goal oriented.  I enjoyoed this discussion because it made me really think about my job placement, as I felt I started out much more task oriented, with strict instructions, but then moved to more goal oriented tasks, with just the final goal in mind, but an entrepreneurial mindset throughout.  

In my internship this week, we mainly focused on continuing our database creation, which is going along very well as we have made great progress.  We also helped TempoCasa create a few new listings and  descriptions in English to make them sound more appealing to a traveller, rather than the broken English that Google Translate spits out.  Charlie, Su, and I also had the chance to tour an apartment to see the process of talking to the owner, taking pictures and discussing prices.  Even though they only spoke in Italian, so it was a little hard to understand, it was super interesting and a great experience to see all of that happen in real time. I have been continuing to build great relationships with everyone at the office and we are already making plans for a night out towards the end of our program!

Lastly, I have been continuing to try my best to assimilate to Italian culture.  I can really feel myself starting to immerse as my parents came to visit for the first time this week for a week and a half.  Even walking around with them, it was funny to see how fast I had already learned the tiny aspects of Italian culture that makes Americans stick out.  We have a family trip to Lake Como planned this weekend, so I am very excited as I have heard stories about how beautiful it is.  Last week, I attended my first ever wine tasting, which was a super cool experience.  I have never been a huge wine drinker, but the wines we tasted there, combined with the descriptions of them, made me really enjoy the experience.  Who knows, maybe I will become a big wine guy before leaving Milan!

 

This week, we had our first two CSR classes which I was honestly pleasantly surprised by.  As the class is ~3 hours, I was a little unsure what to expect, however, the topics addressed and debated kept the class very interesting and extremely thought provoking.  I was also able to connect a lot of the ideas brought up in class to my article for the Wall Street Journal assignment this week about Morgan Stanley possibly banning a user from using their platform, E*Trade, due to possible market manipulation with his influence on the stock price of GameStop.  The SEC is also looking into this man, Keith Gill, as well for market manipulation.  I really enjoyed this article and am looking forward to hearing what happens and applying it to the class.

This week in our Internship Seminar class, we discussed an interesting story that dealt a lot with ethics.  The main points of the story were that there was this group of two guys climbing a mountain when they are brought a man that is naked and dying.  The people who brought this man told them that they had done enough, and could not take care of the man.  They then try to help him a bit, but once they feel they’ve done enough, they pass the dying Sadhu to the next group of people, as they go to climb the mountain.  It was a very interesting story of ethics, as there was really no way to say whether they acted ethically or not, as it is very subjective.

Continuing my internship at TempoCasa, this was a very fun week of work.  As it will be week three coming up, myself and the other interns are starting to get very friendly and build nice relationships with the employees in the office.  Even though he doesn’t speak English, Charlie and I have even been playing Clash Royale with Nicolo, one of the employees.  It is very nice to have such a welcoming group of people, and it makes work a lot of fun! As for actual work, we have been continuing on our creation of a more organized database of the Milan area, helping make apartment listings in English, and even creating videos that will be posted on the company Instagram!

Lastly, I have continued to try to immerse myself in Italian culture and I think I’m starting to stick out as an American a little less nowadays.  It has definitely been an adjustment when finding out that nobody wears shorts out in public, but I’m starting to like the nicer dress in Milan.  This weekend, myself and the 6 guys on the trip rented an AirBnb in Florence! It was amazing to see all of the sights and history, along with seeing a different kind of Italian culture.  I also celebrated my birthday on Friday, so it was a great weekend to walk around and even try a florentine steak! The food everywhere has been amazing so far, but that might top everything.  I was also blown away by the size of the Milano Centrale train station and how beautiful it was.  There was also a crazy amount of people there, yet it was still relatively easy to navigate and travel! It has been a great first couple of weeks!

Even though our CSR class has not officially begun yet, just thinking about the idea has made me more observant of things Italy does to help out.  One of them being the use of more electric or smart cars along with smaller cars in general that give off less emissions.  Walking down the street, I was amazed to see Fiat after Fiat parked on the side of the road.  I was originally caught off guard, but then realized that the use of these cars is much better for the environment.  All of my learning has still come from the WSJ so far, and this week I read an article about how hackers are using AI and that the government and corporations are having to put more into their defenses against hackers using AI themselves.  As cybersecurity is a large part of a company’s CSR, I found this article super interesting and it has made me more aware of the dangers of some possibly sketchy websites.

In the Internship Seminar Class this week, we discussed a lot about the “Cultural Analysis Toolkit”.  I found this activity to be very interesting as it gave me a chance to learn more about myself and how my personal cultural ideals can vary from others even when we come from the same country.  There were 8 different attributes with an extreme on either side and we had to rate ourselves on the scale.  The attribute that I was furthest in one direction had to deal with being very schedule oriented or more go with the flow.  I tend to be extremely go with the flow, as even when I make a schedule, I don’t even follow it.  There are definitely pros and cons to this, however, Professor Swain stated that Italians tend to be more go with the flow, so I might be in good shape!

After completing my first week at my internship, I feel I have already learned a ton.  It still amazes me how the first thing we do every morning when I arrive at the office is get coffee and breakfast, but it has given me a chance to build a relationship with my fellow interns and coworkers, along with meeting new people.  As for actual work, Charlie, Su, and I have been working on reorganizing and creating a larger database for real estate and people in the area, along with helping TempoCasa target more foreign, English speaking customers.  As the demand for real estate can fluctuate, my work on a weekly basis may be different. Even now it feels like I am doing something different every day and I am very excited for whatever is thrown at me throughout the rest of the 7 weeks.

This weekend, I attended the Hiking in the Alps Trip with IES.  I have always seen pictures of the Alps online, but seeing these mountains in real life was breathtaking, and many of the pictures I have taken do not even look real!  Although the ride was very far, the day in the mountains was a ton of fun and an unforgettable experience.  Back in Milan, I have been doing my best to embrace Italian culture.  This week we had an aperitivo with IES that was at a super cool venue with a tower that brought us all the way up to see Milan from above.  I have also been trying my best to use the Italian I learned in the Italian Bootcamp class, however, the locals say its not up to par just yet.  I am hoping to continue working on my Italian to really immerse myself in the culture and to get to know some of the locals on each trip I take.

CSR Class

As we have not had a class session yet for the CSR class, all of the learning I have on this topic has been through the Wall Street Journal articles.  I always like to keep up with the times by reading the WSJ for around 10 minutes per day with the daily email reminders I get, however, these articles and stories I read normally have to deal with financial news and issues, rather than social and governance issues.  Therefore, a lot of the articles I was reading through were very surprising.  The article I focused on dealt a lot with renewable energy in America, which is now becoming a large focus of many companies that are trying to improve their carbon footprint.  Throughout this summer, I will keep those ideas in mind, bring them to class and hope to apply them outside of the classroom as well.  One way I have already seen CSR outside of the classroom is the gross pictures of the side effects of smoking cigarettes on the packs here.  I figure this is one way that these companies and the government are trying to help the people along the with environment in Italy

Internship Seminar

Throughout our internship seminar this week, we talked a lot about the differences in the workplace from America to Italy.  One thing that really stood out to me was the relationship that a lot of coworkers have with each other.  In America, especially in large corporate offices, it is common that coworkers won’t even know each other.  However, at least at TempoCasa, every worker really values the relationship they have with one another, all the way from bosses, to even interns like myself.  We also talked about the reading that was due that was all about personal preferences and traits when given situations.  One that I felt very strongly about had to do with scheduling or going with the flow.  Personally, I have always been an extremely go with the flow kind of person, never making a schedule.  Luckily, in class we discussed how many Italians are like this, therefore, I shouldn’t have too much difficulty transferring over.  Overall, I am looking forward to our next classes to learn even more about the culture.  

Practicum with Italian Company

Throughout this summer, I am interning with the company TempoCasa.  They are an Italian Real Estate company that rents and sells apartments and homes, not only in Milan but also throughout Italy.  I came into this experience not knowing a ton about the real estate industry, but the first few days have gone great!  Myself, Charlie, and Su have all been commuting together every morning to get to TempoCasa at 9 AM.  Once we get to the office, we all walk to a nearby cafe to get some breakfast and coffee.  This was one large cultural difference between this company in Italy and work in the US.  This time spent together in the morning chatting over coffee and getting to know each other has proven very valuable, as it feels that we are already a big part of the company.  As for the work I am doing, it is a little bit of everything.  They are looking to target a more foreign crowd, therefore, my English has helped a good bit to edit their marketing, but we have also been helping organize a new database to organize contacts better, and we will also be helping with their keeping of financial records and books, along with client appointments with non-Italian speakers.  Very excited to keep working!

Social and Cultural Immersion Through Travels in Italy and Europe

This past weekend, I attended the Lake Maggiore trip through IES.  I didn’t really know what to expect, but when we approached the lake, you could see the beautiful sights of the mountains and islands.  Going from island to island, I saw aspects of the culture and wildlife I never thought I would see.  For example, I never thought I would be able to see a white peacock spread its feathers, but I was able to reach out and touch them!  It was also awesome to see all of the beautiful art and architecture that really embodied the Italian lake culture.  

Throughout traveling in Milan, I have already noticed loads of differences in Italian culture compared to the US.  Not only are the food and sights very different, but the overall vibe and culture is completely different as well, the main one being the dress.  I have already had to adapt and am doing my best to immerse myself in the culture of dressing up nicely everywhere I go, even just to the store, wearing pants no matter how hot it is, and last but not least, the extreme lack of flip flops, as I wear them almost 24/7 in the summer.  Overall, the first week with Italian culture has been a large adjustment, but I am a big fan!

 

 

This upcoming summer, I have very high expectations for all four of the key elements of the Lehigh-in-Milan Program.  Starting with the Academic Enrichment via Professor Gupta’s Corporate Social Responsibility course, I believe this course will teach me and my fellow students a lot of valuable information that we might not hear about during a normal Lehigh course load.  Although this has been the Year of Learning topic for the college of business this year, it is still overlooked in many courses.  I look forward to learning more about the topic of CSR as it is very important to the business world today, and will only increase in importance as I grow up and move into the business world.

 

Next, I believe the Academic Enrichment via the Gupta/Swain Internship Seminar will prove to be very influential and beneficial in my career development over the coming years.  To begin, this course will help me prepare for the professional world as I am working on my internship in Milan, but will also prepare me for my future internships or jobs when I return.  With new interview skills and resume building tips, I have already learned a lot from the forum we were given access to, and the summer has not even begun!  From all of the readings and articles about interview tips and cross-culture norms, I have already learnt a lot and am looking forward to learning more in the future.

 

I am also definitely looking forward to starting the internship itself.  As I don’t have any professional experience outside of my summer job at the shore, I am not totally sure what to expect, however, I believe that this internship will teach me some of the necessary skills that I will be using in the future.  From technical skills to just personable skills, I expect to obtain a lot of knowledge and skills that I will be using for not just all of this summer, but also future internships and jobs.  One thing I am very excited for is the fact that the internship is at an Italian based company.  Therefore, this experience will offer a lot of new ideas that I never would’ve gotten from a normal internship in the states.

 

Lastly, what everyone is most excited for, the cultural immersion through group and personal travels.  As I am already signed up for the field trips and various events, I am super excited to get to Italy and experience their culture.  I have never been to Europe, so I am not too sure what to fully expect, but I cannot wait to attend.  I also believe that going on these trips will make the internship and classes more interesting as I will now understand the culture of what is going on in the workplace, rather than just walking in every day with little knowledge on the country.  It will also bring me unforgettable memories and experiences that I won’t be able to get at any other point in my life.