This was my last weekend in Italy! The Amalfi Coast was the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

Author: Kati Morrow | Major: Human Nutrition and Dietetics

Academics

The amount that I learned in the last month far exceeded my expectations. I chose CIMBA because of the great reputation that it has and the evident impact it had on my brother and friends prior to this summer. It was really intriguing to me that the campus is in a smaller rural town in Italy. While at CIMBA, I took the Global Consumer course and International Marketing course which both went toward my Marketing major. Prior to these courses, I was very naïve in my knowledge of international business and the operations of countries outside of the United States.

Out of the many people I met during my study abroad experience, my two professors Molly Rapert and Swinder Janda were my two most valued new relationships. Both had contagious positive attitudes and passion about the subjects being taught. Emphasizing the importance of making the most of this unique experience, they both made learning so interesting and enjoyable. I could really tell that they care about what they were there for! Learning in these courses opened my eyes so much to the world around me.

In International Marketing, I learned about the differences in cultures and marketing strategies around the world. We took field trips to local businesses to learn more about the way these Italian businesses marketed and operated. It was unique to be able to see these places and how they operate firsthand. One similarity I noticed between the six companies we visited during our time was the importance of employees and the welcoming environment. They treat everyone like family and are looking out for the best interests of all employees.

Taking the Global Consumer class this summer taught me more than I could have imagined. Throughout this class we learned a lot about China, Italy, and Africa. My eyes have been completely opened to the differences in our governments, and I have been overwhelmed with thankfulness for my freedoms in America. We were tasked with multiple reading assignments each night that would guide our discussions in class the next day. These not only lead a lot of the discussions in class but also allowed me to see the different perspectives of my classmates. I was able to learn a lot just from listening to my classmates and the different perspectives and interpretations each person had after a reading.

We learned about the history of China starting with the revolution to present day exploring social credit scores and emerging economies. My favorite part of the class was reading A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This is a memoir of his like as a child soldier in the early 1990s. Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I learned so much about the world and humanity.

Our classes were different than in the United States in the fact that there was a lot more discussion within the class. I really appreciated this aspect in both my classes as it added variety and insight from different thoughts and people.

Every day after class, I am thankful for America and the freedoms that I forget the rest of the world is not the same, but also appreciating and being open minded with new perspectives on different countries!

Culture

One of the perks of staying in Paderno del Grappa, Italy is that I got to fully emerse myself in the culture of Italy. There were no tourists in our town, and I grew to appreciate this a lot. My favorite experience while indulging in the culture of Italy was pizza making. I went to a local pizzeria and learned how to make pizza from scratch. The man that taught us did not speak any English and communicated with us through a translator. He had been making pizzas for over 50 years and could make 40 pizzas in one hour. His family-owned pizzeria was run by family alone. He taught us how to roll out the dough, toss the pizza, and put it in the wood fire oven. This was such a unique experience that I could not have done anywhere else! Being a Nutrition major with a passion for food, this was one of the best experiences of my entire trip.

Advice

One piece of advice I would give to students is to always say yes. Being abroad is an experience of a lifetime and saying yes to everything made it even better. My one word to describe my time aboard would be adventure. I really got out of comfort zone and had many adventures along the way. I couldn’t recommend this program enough. CIMBA does a great job with learning and really embracing their students with the desire to help them make the most out of their time in Italy. I am very thankful for this program and the people behind it. The first thing I will be doing when I get home is sleeping. Somehow, I was running off adrenaline for a month, but something tells me it is going to catch up to me as soon as I hit my bed.

I cannot imagine spending my summer any other way. This was an experience of a lifetime full of learning, growth, and adventure!