(1) academic course on Corporate Social Responsibility

This week during our course on Corporate Social Responsibility, a point that stood out to me is that according to the United States Government, the corporation is defined as a person. The amendment under which the corporation gained this right is the 14th amendment. It was interesting to learn that the 14th amendment, which was established to define African Americans as legal citizens, could also be extended to an inanimate being. I was upset to hear that the lawsuits which were brought in court using the 14th amendment as a defense were primarily to defend corporations rather than marginalized systems. Although I understand that the corporation holds a great deal of power within society, I began to wonder how monetary gains continued to overpower the flight of African Americans even after the civil rights movement. I also enjoyed our class poll which uncovered that the majority of our class was more left-leaning in terms of whether or not the government should place more regulations on corporations in order to almost force them to do the “right thing”.” I personally was surprised in my own opinion, as I am usually in favor of a more limited government. However, our class discussion opened my eyes to see that companies will not always act ethically when given free rein.

 (2) Practicum in Milan with an Italian Company

After my first full week in Milan, I was finally able to get the hang of my commute to work via public transportation. My supervisor was at a conference this past weekend in which the moguls of real estate in Italy met together to discuss their work for the year. I was excited to hear what my boss had to share about her experience and I thought that it was amazing that competing organizations all agreed to come together and grow from each other’s knowledge. 

My assignment for the past week has been to investigate Tempo Casa’s social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin. I was then supposed to compare their social media platforms to the top real estate agencies in America. One thing I noticed about the Italian social media marketing strategy is that they focus much more on relationships and family than on their products. I was a social media manager in New York and was told that my posts should highlight the properties for sale as well as the various awards the company earns throughout the year. Conversely, TempoCasa chooses to showcase the family relationships which are created within the homes they buy. I believe that this strategy centered around nurturing relationships is much more effective because it speaks to the customers’ emotions. 

 (3) Social and Cultural immersion through travels in Italy and Europe. 

Last weekend I traveled to Switzerland with some of my classmates. I found this trip absolutely amazing because there was such a culture shock between Milan and Zurich despite their close proximity. The people in Zurich were much colder than the people in Italy and also were much more focused on attention to manners. For example, everyone is expected to keep their volume to a minimum at all times. Despite the cultural adjustment, I felt that Switzerland held so many beautiful architectural details that were so distinct and intricate. I also loved the food; I had an order of fondue which is the traditional meal in Zurich. It was really nice to change up the type of food I was eating and peek into the cuisine of other countries. 

In terms of nightlife, it is obvious that the people of Zurich were much more exclusive than those in Milan. The minimum age for most of the bars was 23 and they would judge the entrants based on their appearance. I found this approach to be slightly rude and off-putting. 

Overall, I was very excited to check another country off of my bucket list and push myself out of my comfort zone to experience the culture of a new area. 

 

This past week we visited the famous “Last Supper” mural. I sent my mother a picture and she was astonished. Mainly by the mural itself, but also because 40 years ago she stood in my exact same spot, looking at the exact same mural. It was incredible to make this connection with my mother, as my family has a running history of traveling Europe, and visiting some of the world’s most unique spots. Furthermore, the church right next to the mural was fascinating. The interior design was something that I

 

had never seen before, and again, after sending a picture to my mom, she was left speechless. We then traveled to a local cafe where I was presented with possibly the best croissant/coffee I’ve ever had. It’s funny sometimes how this stuff works, I’ve been noticing that the small little hole-in-the-wall style cafes are the ones that serve the best coffee. Later on this week, we also visited the canals right near our apartment to walk around and enjoy the view.

The internship that I was placed in, Circularity, has been something that I’ve never experienced before. At first, I was a little nervous to have my first full week of work, however my coworkers made the office feel like home. Furthermore, I am genuinely very interested as to what Circularity does as a company. They are focussed on the circular economy, and the push toward termination of waste as a whole. This week I was tasked to analyze their business model, and benchmark with winning business models of successful B2B companies in the United States. My insight is what I will be presenting to the Circularity team. This gives me the opportunity to feel pressure in the workplace, and adapt to change in an environment that I’ve never been exposed to.

Corporate Social Responsibility is a subject that I’ve just been recently introduced to. However I would argue that this is one of the best classes I’ve gotten to take as a part of Lehigh. Not only is CSR just an interesting topic to study, but the format of Professor Gupta’s class is perfect for the kind of discussion that occurs within the course. Most classes at Lehigh I will not participate if I think that my answer is wrong, however for some reason this class encourages all opinions to be spoken. I would actually argue that being wrong is better than being right in this class. For example, this week we discussed the educational system of rising corporate CEO’s and how the system in which they go through may have weaknesses. In specific this subject allowed me to learn the maximum, due to the open discussion format that encourages students to participate and actively engage in the subject.

We have now been in Milan for about two weeks and I am beginning to adjust to life in Italy. On Sunday, I attended a walking tour of Milan where I learned interesting facts about the Duomo and the spectacular shopping center. On Monday my friends and I visited a newly-opened bar called Il Beerla. The owner is a really funny guy and enjoyed conversing with us Americans! My friends and I have been back a couple times and have made it our new hangout spot. On Tuesday I walked to the three skyscrapers and explored the area. I was surprised at how modernized the area is compared to the rest of Milan. I really enjoy walking around the city, and have been walking to and from class as opposed to taking public transport. I feel as if I can take in more of the city and all it has to offer through long walks.

My internship at HERE Fashion Hub has began to pick up. Gunnar and I are currently performing market research and competitor analysis regarding luggage companies. Alex is working on developing a marketing strategy for the company’s new product, Vado, a convenient and intuitive luggage organizer. We worked on-site twice this week, and met our new co-worker, Cat, who goes to the University of Missouri. She is very nice and appears to be a hard worker. Unfortunately our boss, Fillipo, left for Hong Kong yesterday, so we will be unable to see him for the rest of our time here in Milan. We will still communicate with him over zoom which will allow us to get a sense of how a true hybrid workplace operates. I am very satisfied with my internship placement as I get to experience working at a start-up fashion company in Milan. I will embrace this experience and learn as much as I can in order to prepare for my professional career.

I have learned a lot of valuable information in our corporate social responsibility class. We watched a video the other day that discussed the severe harm that corporations have on our planet. I thought the comparison between corporations and psychopaths was spot-on and truly made me concerned about how much power these large corporations have over the future of our planet and humanity. I enjoyed writing the wall street journal post, and was able to learn a lot about the current hostile takeover JetBlue is performing for Spirit Airlines. I was pleased to present the topic and give my opinion in front of the class. I look forward to continue learning about corporate social responsibility, as I believe it is a very relevant subject in today’s environment.

 

After finally getting over the grog of the jet lag, I was finally prepared to really soak in both what Milan and my classes had. First and foremost, the course that we are taking in Corporate Governance has truly sparked my interest in the matter, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the discussions that we have been having in class. More specifically, this week we read a book and watched a movie on corporations and their far-reaching influence on nearly everything. The in-class discussions that we had this week have been really interesting because we have so many different people in the class, each providing their unique opinions. This, along with Professor Gupta’s limitless insight, has provided really enthralling discussions.

My work is finally beginning to pick up. Each week Pat and I are responsible for writing a certain number of descriptions about Private Equity investment firms. EdiBeez already has a comprehensive Italian database, but Pat and I are responsible for making their english database much better. We had our first deliverable due, in which we wrote about Advent, Ardian, and Bridgepoint. The meeting went well and we are beginning to gain more responsibilities, because now we also have to write an article about private equity deals that have been done recently. Pat and I are working great together which is really making a difference. This sense of teamwork that we have developed has made the work not only much more enjoyable, but it also has allowed us to produce a better final deliverable. I am excited for what the rest of the work at EdiBeez will bring.

This week was full of social and culture immersion. My Italian is slowly getting better, and I can order most food now. I have also taken a strong liking to the espresso, and it is hard for me to make it through class or work in the morning without at least one. In addition to the espressos, I keep trying new flavors of croissant, with chocolate being my favorite right now. I have also had a lot of fun exploring the city and trying out different bars and restaurants. We have become regulars at a local bar that opened this week, when they had a two dollar beer night. Last Sunday we had a really nice walking tour done by the IES director, where we learned a ton about the history of the center of the city, including the Duomo. One of the coolest thing about the center square is that every building is from a different era of art, which is really rare because normally each individual square is from the same era. We also saw the Last Supper by Da Vinci which was just incredible. It is insane to think that it is still standing today even after being bombed heavily during WW2. This weekend we have an IES field trip to Bologna where we are doing a cooking class and exploring the city. After the Bologna stop my group of friends is going to visit Rome. We have an AirBnB since all of the hostels are full and plan on visiting the Colliseum as well as the Vatican. It is crazy how everything here is easy to get to, you can just hop on a train and arrive in a few hours, whereas in the United States you almost have to exclusively travel by air. Overall week 2 has been a really successful week, but it is crazy to think that we are already a third of the way fone with this experience.

 

This past Sunday, the Lehigh in Milan program participated in a walking tour of Milan. We were able to see many areas, and learn of stories, as well as special keys as to how to get the most of our time in Milan. This past Monday was my first full day of my internship, and I went to get lunch and coffee with some of the people that I work with. I had lasagna with pesto for the first time, and Giuseppe, who I worked with, told me this is a dish that his mother made when he was growing up.  On Wednesday, our group visited the Last Supper painting. First of all, I had no clue that this was in Milan. Secondly, I was surprised by the way this painting looked: with dull colors, but our tour guide explained the history, including bombings, that led the painting to be this way. I am still getting used to the late meals in Milan, as I usually have 5 o’clock dinners in the United States. My favorite meal this week was cooked for me by Francesco, an IES employee who lives with our group, who made us pasta carbonara.

My internship placement this summer at Clarkson Hyde has significantly helped me to learn more about the Italian language. Currently, I am working on helping with the financial statements for Voi, a technology company that has electric scooters in Milan, as well as other cities. One of the greatest challenges I have had comes from entering expense information from bank statements. The causes of the charges, all written in Italian, do not directly correspond with the expense categories available on the program we use for financial statements. Because of this, not only do I have to learn the words, I have to gain a true understanding of the language so that I can understand where the charges came from, and what an applicable expense category would be. The workplace culture at Clarkson Hyde Italy is significantly different than the one in the United States. Breaks with coworkers, to get food, coffee, or go for a walk are much more frequent than in the United States. While this may be attributable to the small size of Clarkson Hyde, I felt that very early on, I was given tasks that had a great impact on the company as a whole.

I was genuinely excited to read the book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power for our class with Professor Gupta. I already had a vague idea of what corporations will do in order to gain power, but a few select anecdotes from this book really resonated with me. As a naturally cynical person, I was always skeptical of charity measures taken by corporations. One of the stories told both in the book and a movie we watched spoke about young girls in a factory who were working long, unbearable hours, in poor working conditions. The author of the book went to go visit them, and when he saw their pay stubs, realized that the brand they were making clothes for boasted how a portion of proceeds went to childhood charity. How could a brand brag about supporting children when their clothes were made by 13-year-old girls in sweatshops? I was entranced by this point, and brought it up for discussion in our class with professor Gupta. He asked me one question that opened my eyes to the reality of the situation. “Knowing this, will you change the way you now buy clothes?” I have always been a proponent of the fact that corporations should be the ones to make change on these issues, not making the consumer feel guilty, since a change in my actions will not make a real difference in the grand scheme of things. However, I now realize that the thing currently holding corporations in check is the value of my dollar. They won’t change their ways, because they know my money is waiting on the other side. The corporation is a psychopath: it does not have morals to guide itself. As long as the corporation exists in the way we know it, the only way it will change is with the presence or absence of my monetary support.

 

I finally felt accommodated after the previous week of jet lag, exhaustion, and 2$ bottles of wine. In our class with Professor Gupta this week we explored the meaning of free markets and the structure within the meaning of the term. One aspect of this was corporations and how they possess constitutional rights in the United States. One thing I wish I would have asked that I did some research on was the rights that corporations had in Italian culture. I also really enjoyed our discussion on corporate governance including the new terms I learned like greenmail, hostile takeover, and the poison pill. Understanding terms like these will benefit me in understanding the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility.

For week 2 of my practicum in Milan with an Italian Company, I learned so much valuable information regarding the progression of  European markets and trends over the last decade.  One thing I enjoyed the most in researching European markets was comparing them to our market systems in the United States. During my internship, my partner and I closely dove into our research focusing on the different rules, regulations, and corporate governance styles of Italy compared to America. The most surprising example discovered in my first full work week working in Italy was the amount of data usage in Euro markets. Professor Castellani, my program supervisor constantly talked about how data transfers and data cleanings value in their economy. As a group, we developed one of the largest datasets I have ever seen on a computer by merging six separate financial data files. Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to invest in myself as much as possible with the hope to grow new soft skills and technical skills that can help me grow professionally.

After my lovely trip to Lake Magiorrie last Saturday (May 28th) with professor Gupta, I had extremely high expectations I was very excited about our program’s group trip to Bologna this week. After learning about the Italian culture’s national holiday on June 2nd we decided to use that to our advantage and created an Italy mega trip. Venice to Bologna to Florence and finally to Rome is what we ended up deciding. During our first full week of class and our job placement, it was so hard to concentrate such high expectations on our future travel destinations. However, It was awesome to collaborate with some people I was unfamiliar with before in our program in making travel plans. Being observant in this example is something that made me realize that I have come out of my comfort zone and am open to exploring new relationships and experiences.

 

On Monday, May 23, we arrived in Milan. I met our resident advisor, Francesco, at the airport. He has lived in Milan his whole life. It has been a pleasure having him as company, given he brings a unique perspective and helps us navigate the city of Milan, whether it be walking or public transport. On the first night we attended an introductory dinner where we were able to meet students from the other IES program, as well as get to know everyone in our program. After the dinner, my friends and I walked to the Duomo where we were surprised to see a massive parade taking place celebrating the AC Milan soccer team’s league championship victory. The energy and pride from the fans was unlike anything I’ve seen in the United States. The fans were chanting very loudly, climbing light posts, and the celebration lasted for hours. One of my favorite aspects of the trip so far has been the delicious food. I have been in Milan for almost a week now and I have yet to have a meal I did not enjoy. I have went to many pizza and pasta restaurants, and the food at each of the restaurants has been incredible compared to pizza and pasta in the United States. I look forward to trying even more restaurants as the trip progresses. In terms of work, Wednesday was the first day of my internship. I am working at a company called HERE Fashion Hub. I am working alongside two fellow Lehigh students and one Missouri student. The project we are working on consists of creating customer surveys and developing a marketing plan for a new travel accessory product the company is releasing. We are also tasked with performing competitive analyses and analyzing how the product would fare in Italian and American markets. I am glad I was assigned this internship as the tasks and responsibilities are similar to what I want to do professionally. We are also taking two courses during our time here in Milan. One class is with Professor Gupta and we are learning about Corporate Social Responsibility, and the second class is taught by Professor Swain where we are learning about Italian culture and how to immerse ourselves within the culture. Attached below are pictures I have taken so far.

 

Italy, especially Milan, is nothing like I have ever experienced in my traveling life. Through the shifts in culture these past few days, I’ve been tasked with the ability to adapt to change effectively. This is something that not only applies when traveling to a foreign country with no knowledge of the language spoken, but also very applicable in the workplace. Below are some of my experiences and how they’ve affected me in a way in which I can learn and improve on them. 

Ordering pizza. What might sound like such a simple task to anyone here in Milano, is something that is extremely difficult for an English speaker. It is not only the language barrier that creates a blockade between communication, but the sheer thought of trying to use English and the workers not understanding, is terrifying. My friends and I have found ways to overcome this barrier, but we were forced to adapt to change in an environment that was completely new to us. The pizza is also unreal. 

Taking public transportation. Again, something very easy back home, but something not so easy here. I live in the suburbs of New Jersey, so the only time I’ll be taking public transportation is when I’m in the city, which isn’t even that much of an issue for me. However, the first time myself and my two coworkers from Lehigh tried to make a 40 minute commute, it took us upwards of an hour. This was not due to the lack of knowledge about Public Transportation (PT) that we had (I mean at the end of the day we have apple maps), but rather it was our senses discouraging our logical thinking, thus forcing us to go on a bus or tram that could have gone literally anywhere. Over the past few days we have managed to get to work more efficiently, however this was a learning experience for all three of us, and an opportunity for adapting to change. 

Being self-conscious about my personal belongings. As stated before, the commute I have to take to my internship is about 45 minutes. Within this 45 minutes, we take a walk through Milan, hop on a bus, and then on a tram to get there. This leaves us very susceptible to our personal belongings being taken, as most theft in Milano happens on PT. Again, as stated above, back home I live in the suburbs of NJ, meaning that I don’t really have to work about someone pickpocketing me of my belongings. While small, this is a major adjustment I’ve had to make. 

Some other highlights listed below:

• Duomo is beautiful day or night
• Professor Gupta and Professor Swain hold great classes that I have retained tons of cultural and educational knowledge from
• The food is like no other
• I’ve never had so much fun just walking around with my friends

On Monday morning I landed in Milan. I met up with all of my new friends, including Francesco who is living with us at our Aparto. He is really nice and is doing a great job in helping us get acquainted with living in Italy. After making it back to our apartment we had pasta at a local restaurant. That afternoon we had a housing meeting and got a tour of our new accommodation. We hung out as a group Monday night, and I met my new best friend Sindu! Tuesday we had an all-day orientation, where we learned all about what we will be doing. We also had a practice commute that evening before our dinner at BeBop with Francesco for some good pizza. We also learned some Italian from the restaurant, that rockets mean arugula. Wednesday we had our first Internship seminar with Professor Swain. After that, I got lunch with my friends at a local café and had my first cappuccino in Italy. That afternoon I had my first day of work, where I am working at Phloema with Dee and Dean. So far I am enjoying the work that I have been doing. In Italian tradition, our sponsor took us out to get coffee and talk about the internship. Wednesday night we had a really nice dinner once Professor Gupta arrived with his wife. We ate at a Milanese restaurant with the IES director along with Prof. Gupta, and the food was absolutely delicious. Thursday we had our first class with Professor Gupta, where we discussed our learning objectives and had an introduction to the course. After class, I came home and took a nap because my jet lag was terrible. When we got back home we did homework for several hours to make sure we were prepared for Friday class. Thursday night I finally got a good night’s sleep, which finally helped me get over my jet lag. On Friday, the class was really interesting, and during our ten-minute break, I walked to a bakery and bought a croissant. That afternoon I came back to the Aparto and then I walked to Bocconi University and explored the campus. On my walk, I found a really cute café where I took a break to get a salad, read my book, and people watch. So far I am having the best time in Milan, meeting all of my new friends and exploring the city!