AIFS Abroad: Intern Abroad in Italy

If you're looking to study/intern abroad, GE is a company that can provide you with mentorship, an internship in your given field, and traveling opportunities. Shout out to Eleonora, thank you for your happy energetic personality and for making sure I was happy at my internship from day one till the day I departed back for the states. If you choose to come to Milan, make sure you buy gelato from Grom and Ciccolato :)

I had very positive experiences which helped me improve as professional but more important it helped me improve as a person! I had the opportunity to have the perfect match with my company. Our relationship flow from the first day! I am extremely happy because they gave me numerous responsibilities like office work, marketing and communications, video operator and events organiser, which helped me gain a lot of experience and more - raised the confidence in my personal strengths! Furthermore, I got the opportunity to travel around Italy and Europe ( particularly Munich, Germany and Cattolica - a beautiful town on the Italian cost). Overall, I think I had one of the best summer experiences until now because I was able to meet a lot of people ( some of them future connections and good friends!

I think I got lucky that I was placed at such a good company. My company was wonderful and were very, very generous with their interns. Overall my co-workers and supervisors let me do a plethora of fun and interesting duties. I learned a lot at the company I was placed at and I'm very thankful I was here. I definitely loved Eleonora though! She was wonderful and so nice!

Overall, my experience was great! The Italian language course was a good start to the program. Don't expect to be proficient but you'll learn a lot of the basics. Although the class was only about 3-4 weeks long, I made incredible friends that I continued to spend time with throughout my stay in Florence. All of us "GE kids" (the nickname given to us from our classmates/friends) got along well and became good friends. And the trips we took together as part of the GE program were always fun. Do not miss out on those trips! As far as my internship placement goes, personally I had a few ups and downs in the beginning. My first placement did not work out so well (language barrier). So I switched and my new placement turned out to be better and I enjoyed it far more. But don't let that scare you, it is rare to switch placements!!!! There's more to the story for why I switched so don't hesitate about joining GE. They were helpful in setting me up at my new placement. I interned at a printmaking studio/gallery that related to my college degree and I enjoyed the working environment. I learned a lot of new techniques with the printmaking medium and it was enriching. In the end, any new experience is what you make of it!

My experience in Florence through Global Experiences was great. I had never left the country before this trip and was a bit nervous as expected. GE was really helpful in not only preparing me, but in placing me with my employer and providing on-the-ground assistance. I was matched with a student travel agency where I was a communications intern. GE was great with preparing me for my interview. I got to experience real life office environment, the flow of communication between employees, overcoming challenging tasks and the overall camaraderie of a workplace. Aside from all of this was the intimidating language barrier and cultural differences. I definitely came back to the states more confident in my abilities. Another cool thing about GE were the trips included in the program cost. We saw some beautiful regions of Italy. I also made some great friends from the housing GE provided. We all spent a lot of time together in class, exploring the city and museums , checking out nightlife, the awesome culinary scene and just relaxing after work. I really had an unforgettable experience in Florence.

I really like Eleonora who is one of the staffs in Milan, and she organizes trips for us to travel around. She has been really helpful! Whenever we need help, she's there and I can tell she tries her best to satisfy our needs and help us get through problems.

I very much enjoyed my experience in Milan; there were however some ups and downs, as expected! The support I had from my representative in Milan was excellent. I initially struggled with the Italian language classes as the teachers did not speak any English during the lessons; this meant I did not enjoy the lessons for the first couple of weeks. I did also have some issues with my housing situation- this was advertised as a flat share, however on my arrival the landlord herself actually lived there also which was more like a home stay; there were times when I didn't feel very comfortable where I lived, due to this I had to speak with the school about moving accommodation. The organised events were good and allowed me to visit more of Italy which I thoroughly enjoyed.

When I first became part of GE's 3-month internship program in Florence, I was not sure what to expect. Of course I was excited, scared and unsure of my future.... however, when I arrived I knew I chose the right path. My apartment was right in the center of town with roommates from around the world (who were all in the same boat as I was). My internship was so great that I even returned and worked for the company a few years later. Who would have thought I could do event planning overseas! Before heading to Florence I never would have expected to call a foreign country home. Don't miss this chance. With the support of the GE staff you can have a fun stress free experience you will not regret!