AIFS Abroad: Intern Abroad in Italy

It's amazing how much you can grow when you go outside of your comfort zone!!!

My internship in Milan through Global Experiences was unbelievable and the best decision I have ever made personally and professionally. I was able to gain first hand experience in one of the fashion capitals of the world. I networked with professionals in the industry from various parts of Europe, learned new skills that I can apply to my career in fashion when returning home, and have this impressive experience on my resume, distinguishing myself from other candidates when applying for jobs in Canada. The onsite staff in Milan made the experience even more special, organizing exciting trips around Italy and making sure we were comfortable and taken care of the entire time abroad. I also met amazing people in the program and made unbelievable memories!!

I highly recommend Global Experiences to further not only your career but also personal growth. I have meet some fantastic people along this journey and seen beautiful locations in my free time. My internship was a lot of fun and my boss was very professional and made sure I felt comfortable. I was really appreciative that I was given the opportunity to work hand in hand with the designer and even contribute to the designs. I was able to participate much more than I thought I would. The best thing I have ever done!!

My overall experience was an incredible one. This was my first time ever traveling to Europe and it was not what I expected. It was more than that. The on-site staff (Eleonora), was very helpful and prompt to answer any questions I had. The mini trips to several cities where very much insightful and so much fun!

My internship placement was prompt and so great. I got to learn a lot of things, not only pertaining to my job but as an industry professional and how things work in the real world.

This experience was by far a very incredible one; I learned a lot from the people I met, the places I went and a whole new language. This is something everyone should get a chance to experience!

At first I was really nervous because I didn´t know what to expect as a Fashion Designer Intern. It took them a little bit to find internships that fit specifically to what I was looking for, but when they finally found it, it was exactly what I wanted! I was able to go to an amazing Fashion Show, to two showrooms and to several fabric warehouses. I worked with the Architect and Fashion Designer, Alice Tamburini. Me and her assistant had to draft the patterns for her designs and sew the samples. I also made fashion research, for current trends in fabrics, colors, silhouettes, haute couture details, etc. I was also able to help with the edition of the pattern that was going to be printed in the fabric used in the collection and propose ideas. I helped a lot with the digitalizing of the Designer´s sketches through Illustrator, and also made technical flats for all her collections. So as you can see, I was involved in the whole collection production process, from a new born idea, to sketches, drafting and pattering, sewing and sampling, making technical flats and filling out technical packs, creating a catalogue and got to see an incredible fashion show and went to showrooms. This is the exact experience I wanted to come home with, adding of course, all the amazing memories that Milan gave me, and the places I got to know, it´s food, it´s people and it´s culture. To me this was an unforgettable experience and I would completely advice you to try it!

It is my second time around doing a program with Global Experiences and again it was an incredible experience.

I interned with a Showroom in Milan and enjoyed my internship very much. I had various daily tasks in the showroom which again open my mind to what it would be like to actually work in a high fashion field in one of the fashion capitols in the world.

In addition, the social outings that you do with Global Experiences are excellent. We took day trips to places like Lake Como, Verona and Venice.

The continued support to the students in this program from both Anna (internship placement coordinator) and Eleonora (onsite program coordinator) throughout the program was amazing. Again, like the first time I did a Global Experience program, I felt like I was family not just a student on a study abroad program.

I will continue to recommend the Global Experiences program to anyone who is looking for an abroad/internship experience.

-- 2013 --

If you are looking for an all around wonderful experience abroad Global Experiences is absolutely a program you should consider participating in.

The communication between the program coordinators and the participants prior to the program as well as during the program was wonderful. Eleonora was my contact person in Milan during my program and she was amazing. She is extremely outgoing, energetic, helpful and committed to making sure everyone has a positive experience while participating in the Global Experiences program.

Prior to this program I did not speak any Italian. The language program that is accompanied with the GE program is excellent and you will quickly learn the basics.

Anna, who does the placement of internships for GE, placed me with a fantastic internship that matched up perfectly with my prior experience that I already had in the field. My internship truly focused on what I stressed I was interested in prior to participating in the GE program and prior to coming to Italy.

I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested. This program has opened my mind to possibilities that I had not previously considered. I know my experience will help set me apart from others in my work field in the future.

Studying abroad in Milan, Italy with GE was a fantastic way to spend my summer and I would recommend it to anyone - people who are new to study abroad and those that have gone before (like myself).

On a day to day basis, the full Immersion Italian Language class was excellent, the professors actually care about you and want you to learn Italian as best as you can. I also think the class structure and professors are some of the best that I have experienced and I was able to learn basics very quickly.

My internship was in Accounting and I had a great experience. I enjoyed working in the office and more than able to contribute to my employer. Obviously with any internship on some days the tasks were not the most interesting but the office made an effort to show me how those tasks fit into the greater picture, and the majority of my efforts contributed to a single project that I was able to work on from start to finish. Overall I learned a lot about the accounting industry and small businesses in general.

The social trips are excellent, these are planned one day trips to places like Venice and Verona. I especially enjoyed these because they were easy to do, you just showed up and got a great experience in these places. Not only did we walk around checking out the sites that I would've done had I gone myself, but we also did things that made these trips special that I wouldn't have known about by myself. (For example, we got a tour of the Murano Glass Factory in Venice, and ate at Romeo's house in Verona, where I tried donkey which is a local delicacy.)

One final thing that I've learned while being on multiple study abroad trips with multiple programs is that no matter which program you go on the place is the same, London is always London, Paris is always Paris, and Milan is always Milan. The things that make a good study abroad experience great are the people. The GE Support staff cares about you, both your well being, your personal development and that you enjoy your experience as much as possible.

A specific example of the support of GE people that I would like to share was also my greatest difficulty that I encountered. My first weekend there I thought I had gotten appendicitis (luckily I did not) but appendicitis can become fatal very quickly. Now having a health scare in a foreign country is a terrifying experience in any circumstance but it is especially scary when you have just gotten there. I made the decision to go to the hospital to be safe, once I made the decision I no longer felt terrified. GE (specifically Eleonora - Thank you!!!) arranged for a cab to take me to the hospital within moments, she then met me at the hospital and was with me the entire time (until late in the morning) and then came back the next day (the hospital kept me overnight for observation). After this she continually checked in on me to make sure I was ok and other members of the GE staff did so as well. I was amazed and I am eternally grateful for the support of GE, I had only been there a week but they all still treated me as family.

I would recommend both studying abroad and doing so with GE.

I had an amazing time both in Florence and Milan...it was by far the best and most life-changing experience of my life! Though my homestay mom in Florence was very sweet, she refused to let my roommate nor I run our laundry even though I thought they were required to do so. Keeping that in mind, while in Florence, unlike other people in my program who lived near the Duomo, I lived a 30 minute walk away from them in the local area, which I very much appreciated. Even though this made getting home late at night a hassle (had to pay for my own cab) I did appreciate getting to tour the local parts of Florence and having the best gelato in my life (La Gelateria Di Medici). I enjoyed hiking the ever-so-tiring Florence Duomo, which turned out to be my favorite view of the trip as well as enjoyed the nightlife. I did not know Florence would be as beautiful as it was. The Chianti Wine Tour was amazing as well. For class, I was not a big fan of the 2 hour business lecture and much more preferred to have a longer language class as I felt it to be rushed with how much fun I had. I thought the food for our homestay luncheon was amazing (at least the pasta) and would recommend doing it again. The PLUS Hostel was fun to stay at too. I think the Ufizzi Museum would have been more enjoyable without the never-ending tour.
For Milan, I really like the three hour tour we had as well as the tour guide that we had. I also loved the day trips to Venice and Lake Como as both were beautiful. The subway transportation was so convenient as it was so close to where we lived and could get anywhere by subway.
For the field I wanted to do, I could not do because I did not speak fluent Italian so I just chose a field I was good in: Social Media. I did a little translating and revising for their website blogs, but for the most part I did more of translating and revising business proposals for kids in Africa, which was interesting, but also not exactly what I was aiming to do and very tiring; however, I liked my boss and coworkers and how flexible and caring they were. I believe I was the only one in my group to see The Last Supper. Huge shout out to Eleonora! Thank you, it was one of the best sights of my life and it was only 15 minutes! Many thanks to Eleonora and Whitney for helping me out with everything and to Katie too! Overall, I would say my trip was phenomenal and I would love to go again!

I really enjoyed my internship here in Milan. I came in here with little expectations because I knew that Italy being the fashion capital I would probably not get a big named company. But instead I ended up working with a big fashion company with great coworkers. I was given more and more responsibility as time went on and now I feel confident that I will have a lot to offer in my next internship. My tasks included help selling during the buying season, preparing contracts for buyers, inputting orders, all things I will very much need in my future internships/jobs. This internship was exactly what I hope to work in after graduation so I feel that it more than prepared me for the fashion industry along with a new perspective on a different culture. I feel that I will be able to work well in any environment because coming to Milan I really stepped outside of my comfort zone and only excelled. I had two bosses who both have played a big part in my experience because they both were like a mentor to me and I plan to keep in touch with them when I leave.