Voices from Abroad: Giulia Fortini

Boston, MA (USA), Exchange Program: Babson College
Guangzhou (China), Exchange Program: Sun Yat-Sen University
New York, NY (USA), International Internship: Fuori Porta NYC

Exchange students in Boston

It is really difficult to sum up all the incredible international opportunities that Università Bocconi has given me during my studies, the academic and working experiences abroad that I did during these years, the exciting months lived in other countries and on different continents made by unforgettable memories and lifetime friends. I hope to give you an idea of how my life has changed through these experiences by describing my three international experiences.

My first experience abroad was the Exchange Program at Babson College, Boston, during my third year of my Bachelor. I had the opportunity to discover Boston and live the American college life between courses, the library, group projects and also parties surrounded by wonderful people from all over the world. I developed a strong kinship towards team-working, facing strict deadlines and dealing with other people with different cultures and backgrounds.

My second international experience was in Guangzhou, in the South of China, for the Exchange Program at Sun Yat-Sen University during the Second year of my Master of Science. It was an incredible experience because I had the unique chance to discover the Asian and Chinese cultures, living in China and attending classes with Chinese people, together with the possibility of living and studying with international students.

Giulia at Sun Yat-Sen University

Moreover, I travelled a lot all around Asia: not only Beijing and Shanghai, but also Hong Kong and Macao, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

These months in China changed me: it has opened my mind, made me stronger and enriched by all the people I met and all the enchanting places I visited.

My third wonderful international experience was in New York, "where dreams are made of." It was love at first sight with the city that never sleeps. From the first moment you find yourself in New York, you feel as if you belong to this city instantly.

When you live in New York, you feel at the center of the world, experiencing the "American dream." You feel that everything is possible and that great things can happen. Living in Manhattan you can have the chance to experience the real American life. Moreover, the city offers so many different opportunities! Museums, stage shows on Broadway from The Lion King to Mamma Mia!, brunch in Central Park and dinner in SoHo, clubs, the Empire State Building and Top of the Rock, Times Square, 5th Avenue, Harlem and Brooklyn...

Giulia on the Brooklyn Bridge

I worked in a fashion agency, Fuori Porta, where the bosses work as an intermediary between Italian producers of fabrics and the major American fashion brands. I assist the partners in all the aspects concerning the daily development of the business: not only helping them implement new tools for the analysis of the performance of specific clients and products represented, learning and implementing basic American bookkeeping skills and enforcing the team with constant brainstorming about new follow up strategies, but also attending appointments with clients and preparing, organizing and attending trade shows in New York City for the promotion of the collections represented.

This gave me the unique opportunity to get into American culture and the American business world.

It is really difficult to explain how living and working in New York improved me thanks to the experiences that I had, the people that I met and the people who I worked with, the places that I saw in this fascinating city.