Skills Developed
Throughout my international experiences, I developed numerous skills applicable personally and to my career.
Adaptability
Throughout my Exchange and International Volunteer Work, I was put through a plethora of situations requiring quick changes and thought-out responses.
Notably, at the beginning of my Exchange experience, I found out I signed a contract for an apartment that did not exist. As a result, I needed to find housing while already in Italy. Short-term, I booked hotels each night while I searched for housing that lasted the duration of my exchange. Not too long after, I found space in a residence with native Italian students, and it ended up being a great experience to learn about the culture.
Communication
My international experiences required me to learn and adapt my communication skills to meld in with the various cultures I explored.
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In Italy, given the fluency in English is not as good as other countries, the notable communication barrier is that of speaking the Italian language. Prior to departing for my Exchange experience, I spent time daily learning the language and vocabulary, but I found it was certainly not enough to get by. As a result, I picked up many of the colloquialisms, accents, and gestures from those in my residence, my family in Southern Italy, and those I encountered in my travels.
Organization
From travels to fulfilling administrative requirements, my international experiences required much in the way of both planning and organization.
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Having been employed at PwC the prior two summers, I was interested in seeing if I could get a tour and meet a partner at PwC Italy's Milan office. Using LinkedIn, I connected with Fabio Rossi, a Strategy& Value Creation partner, and arranged for a meeting at PwC Italy's renowned Tre Torri office. During my time, I toured the office and had coffee with Fabio. As a result, I established powerful connections that I will likely use as I start my career at PwC.
Teamwork
My international experiences and coursework required much in the way of teamwork with people from different cultures and perspectives.
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All of my classes at Bocconi University required collaboration with the peers in my class. Most notably, my International Business & Management class was completely case-based and required us to collaborate on each assignment. In doing so, we had to prepare by reviewing content and bring innovative ideas to the table to solve the problem each company had at hand. As a result, my teams tended to learn the content better compared to traditional lecture.
