Sarah Balistreri
Spring 2011
IBO Italia - Ferrara
My experience as an intern at IBO Italia, an Italian NGO that promotes volunteer work within
the European Union and abroad, was one of the best parts and biggest learning experiences of
my semester in Ferrara. Not only was I able to improve my Italian through getting to know IBO's
wonderful staff members, I also gained a deeper understanding of many social issues and how
IBO and the European Union respond to them. I worked extensively on a proposal that will send
two volunteers to work in Mexico through the European Voluntary Service's Youth in Action
Programme and thus learned about the structure of the European Union and the programs it
offers to its members. The internship allowed me to become a part of an incredible organization
that is a force for good in the world and gave me opportunity to improve my Italian, learn so
much about Italy and the European Union as a whole, and make comparisons between attitudes
towards social issues in the United States and the EU. My internship at IBO gave me a new
perspective on the role of governing organizations and I am so grateful that I was able to have
this unique experience while studying abroad in Ferrara. (not for Credit)
Goldsmith Madeleine
Spring 2011
Yoruba - Ferrara
My experience with the Yoruba gallery gave me the opportunity to meet Italian artists and
curators creating contacts and connections in Italy with whom I hope to continue collaborating in
the future. During the days leading up to the opening of the exhibit I was able to talk to the artist
himself and ask him what his inspiration had been for his pieces, and I even got to help install
some of the installations! Once the exhibit was open, I got to greet the visitors who came by
therefore also interacting with the community of Ferrara and getting to know more and more of
its residents. All in all my internship helped make me feel more a part of this new Italian
community I ended up caring so much about. (not for credit)
Colin Gibson (undergraduate)
IBO Italia
Spring 2010
In the early 1950s, the International Builders’ Society, known today as IBO, was founded by
priests seeking to help rebuild Europe. IBO started in northern Europe; indeed, IBO is a Flemish
acronym, but eventually spread to southern Europe. IBO Italia runs work camps in many
countries around the world and also participates in many European-level programs. My time at
IBO was involved in the European Voluntary Service, a program of the European Union that
allows young Europeans to broaden their horizons by doing volunteer work abroad. My job was
to translate documents from Italian to English, one of the three procedural languages of the
European Commission (the others being French and German). The sheer amount of text to
translate is daunting at first, but you get used to it, and your speed at translating and
understanding Italian will greatly improve. The IBO office is located in a nice part of the city,
near the Piazza Ariostea where everyone goes to sit outside in the warm months. The team
you’ll work with are amazing people, always ready to help and extremely friendly. I felt very
welcome there. In addition, they often have other interns and volunteers in the office, many
from outside Italy as well. Plus, they often cook lunch for you; what more could you want?
(Credit-bearing internship)
Ben Weir (undergraduate)
Istituto di Storia Contemporanea
Spring 2010
The experience that I had at the Institute for Contemporary History of Ferrara was very valuable
as both a history major and an Italian student. At the Institute, I was given independence and
agency to choose and develop my own project. This project ended up centering around the period
directly after World War 2 (il secondo dopoguerra,) in Ferrara and the surrounding area. I was
very lucky to have access to primary sources, including newspapers and surveys that I used to
develop a final essay dealing with agricultural strikes and political newspapers. The internship
gave me the opportunity to take the study of local history into my own hands in a way that I
would have never been able to in a typical classroom environment. The staff at the Institute was
always incredibly helpful and knowledgeable—their enthusiasm for the study of local history
astonished and impressed me. I was able to read and write Italian for many hours a week, which
helped fill a gap in the Italian education system that focuses mostly on listening to lectures and
speaking in oral exams. In the end, this experience was enjoyable, challenging, and unique to the
area—three reasons that I found it so valuable. (credit-bearing internship)
Gladys Valverde
Associazione IBO Italia
Fall 2009
IBO Italia is a non-governmental organization that handles various civil service projects and sets
up work camps in Italy, in Europe and throughout the world to help communities in need. As a
volunteer I focused on various tasks, the main one being written translations, from Italian to
English and Spanish, of the organization‘s in-progress and redesigned website. Although the
work was rewarding and informative in its own way, the true benefit of working with IBO comes
from the people you will meet. The group of people who run and organize the various programs
are extremely dedicated and work very hard to make sure that everything functions the way it
should. They are always willing to share any information or personal knowledge and took the
time get to know me personally. They worked so well as a team, which was especially evident
during group lunches, and were helpful in answering any questions I might have on the work
IBO did with other nations. I also had the opportunity to meet people who had traveled or would
soon be traveling to third-world countries as active volunteers of IBO. Their own, individual
experiences and motivations were inspiring, enough to make me consider taking a similar path.
On the whole, my semester with IBO Italia was enriching, and I would recommend it to any
student interested in non-profit work. The only setback is the scheduling and having to work
around lessons, tutoring sessions, etc. However, if you do find the time it is certainly worthwhile
(not Credit-Bearing Internship)
Ema Zubovic (Undergraduate)
Elementary School “Bombonati”
Spring 2009
During my academic year in Ferrara, I did a teaching internship at two elementary schools:
Scuola Elementare Bombonati and Scuola Elementare Don Milani. Three days a week, I helped
out in second- and fifth-grade English classes. Teaching English to such small kids was a really
fun experience because it‘s a total change of pace from regular university classes. The second
graders didn‘t really know much English at all, so it was all about thinking up creative games to
teach them colors, animals, and the like. The fifth-graders were really excited to have someone
from America there and always had all kinds of questions about the US and how it was different
from Italy. One day a week, I taught a fifth-grade class entirely on my own, which was great
because the kids looked up to me as a real teacher and were eager to learn as much as they could.
Classes usually consisted of playing vocab games, doing skits, and singing songs, so it was fun
for both me and the kids. The best part of the internship was probably the Christmas concert – I
taught them some typical Christmas songs that they made their own choreography for and then
sang for the entire school. Overall, the internship was really fun and rewarding and I recommend
it very highly to anyone who loves kids and wants to try teaching, even if you‘ve never done it
before. (not Credit-Bearing Internship)
Anna McDonald (Undergraduate)
Associazione IBO Italia
Fall 2008
During my first semester in Ferrara, I participated in an internship at IBO Italia, a non-profit
organization that concentrates on establishing work camps in Italy and third world countries. I
worked on a variety of projects that included written and oral translation, writing appeals to the
Italian National Agency to get funding for work camps, researching issues plaguing third world
countries for the organization‘s website and newsletter, and working as a student PR
representative. I also was involved in creating powerpoint presentations for their information
meetings, writing articles about the association for the school newspaper, volunteering at
fundraisers, and even getting to create the organization's Christmas card to send to supporters
and other IBO offices around the world. This experience was not only amazing for the variety of
activities I was able to participate in, but also for the incredibly nice and supportive people I was
able to work with every day. Through this internship I was given many opportunities to meet
Italians, practice my speaking and written skills, and truly get a feel of what it is like to work for
an NGO in Italy. It also opened doors for my involvement in other organizations, as I got a
position at the university newspaper after writing an article on IBO. For me, the internship
provided a way to really get a sense of the Italian lifestyle (especially with the one to two hour
lunch breaks every day) and was a nice balance with classes at the university, where involvement
is very minimal. I loved working at the office so much that even when the internship ended I
decided to continue volunteering second semester. From my experience, I would highly
recommend others to take advantage of the opportunities that this internship presents. (Credit-
Bearing Internship)
Darcy Mullen (Undergraduate)
Associazione DIDO’
Spring 2009
I volunteered for the association DIDÒ. It is a program that organizes activities at the natural
history museum for kids from the age of 5 and 6 to high schoolers. I think that the program does
a great job, giving some of these kids their only exposure to the ―natural world.‖ My schedule
at the university didn‘t fit the hours that they need, and so I wasn‘t able to work very often, and
would never have been able to reach 150 hours needed to complete the internship for credit. It
would be wise to check with them before committing to 150 hours. (not Credit-Bearing
Internship)
Sophia Levine (Undergraduate)
Maria Livia Brunelli Art Gallery
Spring 2009
Managing an internship on top of other academic obligations is not an easy task, but it is a way
to deepen your knowledge of language and culture in a setting specific to your interests. My
internship at MLB Maria Livia Brunelli home gallery allowed me to see Italy in a much different
way than I would have solely by taking courses at the university. MLB is a small art gallery run
out of the apartment of its namesake Maria Livia Brunelli. Its openings feature works of
contemporary artists that often relate to the current exhibits at the nearby Palazzo Diamante.
During my time at the gallery I worked primarily on communications and translations for the
showing of the American artist Timothy Thompkins—whose opening coincided with the Giorgio
Morandi exhibit at the Palazzo Diamante. Daily I found myself amidst the difficulty of running a
small artistic business in Italy: finding funding, negotiating contracts, getting publicity, and
creating a name. The work could be very frustrating but was always interesting. I had the
opportunity to speak to many local artists about their art and even showed one of the artists some
of my work. And my coworkers—mostly Italian students from the Faculty of Architecture—
were really great and candidly expressed their feelings about the art and artists who passes
through the office. In my time at the gallery I feel as though I not only improved my vocabulary
and speaking skills but also developed my taste for art. I also had the opportunity to hear
firsthand about the arts environment in Italy: that though Italy has a rich history of the arts, the
current situation is not such a pretty thing… I would recommend this internship for anyone
interested in small arts businesses. But I would warn them that it is easy to end up with more
work than you bargained for. Be clear about your intentions as an intern and know that the
gallery is small (so you will be working very closely with your coworkers). That said, it is a very
rewarding experience… and often the boss makes cookies! (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Jamie Rosenfeld (Undergraduate)
Elementary School “Bombonati”
Spring 2009
This past spring I worked in the elementary school " Scuola Bombonati." I worked eight to ten
hours every week with a first grade class which consisted of 16 Italian students, and 2 Chinese
students. I worked with these kids in all of their subjects, such as Italian reading and writing,
math, science, geography, images, and music, as an assistant. I also taught my own English
classes. During free time I organized dance classes for the kids and also incorporated dance into
their academic program. The children were receptive and wonderful. Although I was teaching
them, I learned a lot myself. (not Credit-Bearing Internship)
Molley Kaiyoorawongs (Undergraduate)
Scuola Elementare “Bombonati”
Spring 2008
I just completed my internship at Bombonati and Don Milani elementary schools in Ferrara.
Since I am more interested in secondary education, I honestly wasn‘t looking forward to 120
hours with 6-11 year olds. That all changed when the first grade teacher I was shadowing
introduced me to her class and Carlo (I didn‘t know his name at the time) started jumping up and
down as he cheered. The internship was fabulous! As an American, you‘re a novelty so the
curious students, staff and teachers flock to you with their questions. As an intern, you‘re not
quite a figure of authority and yet you‘re still higher than the students on the pecking order of
life. Even if you‘re not interested in becoming a teacher, I highly recommend this experience as a
means to get candid answers to all the questions you never had. Being around so many young
people was refreshing to me, a complete change from Ferrara‘s aging population and university
students. Furthermore, this opportunity presented itself just at a time when I was feeling that I
had to put myself ―out there‖ in order to have any kind of quality interpersonal interactions and,
for that it was truly a godsend. With the effusive praises aside, I must say that the internship was
not easy. After a couple of weeks of observation, I was asked to substitute a sick English teacher.
Of course I said yes, teaching time with nothing to gain but knowledge and practice about how to
manage a class for an aspiring teacher? Well, I made many lesson plans and even more mistakes.
If I taught a little over 60 hours, I reflected on those hours for more than 120: what I learned,
how to improve lessons, how the students perceived my comments, assignments, teaching style,
everything, insomma. I won‘t bore you by continuing this journal entry but I will say that the
beauty of this internship is that you get unlimited face-to-face interaction with Ferraresi people
and you have the freedom to choose how--shadow administrators, math classes, teacher A. Or if
you get sick of the school, you can even say you want to see the others! Since there aren‘t words
for how much I grew or learned, I‘ll just say this: this pass/fail course was worth more than the
cumulative worth of the 7 other classes I‘ve taken at Ferrara in the arc of a year. (Credit-Bearing
Internship)
Katherine Glass (Undergraduate)
Scuola Elementare “Bombonati”
Spring 2008
During my semester abroad in Ferrara, Italy I had the opportunity to work as an English teacher
in an elementary school in town. I worked primarily with the third and fourth graders in two
different classes, but sometimes I was needed to substitute for absent teachers in other classes as
well. Having no teaching experience whatsoever, I first observed a few lessons and studied their
English books before taking over the classes myself. From that point, I realized that by being
enthusiastic, creative and excited about the material I was teaching was the best way to get the
kids to really want to learn. From February to May we finished two textbooks and the students
were writing short essays about their lives and activities, which meant they had come a long way
from when I came on the first day. Our classes were definitely high energy, fast-paced and a lot
of fun because I tried to always incorporate fun games and exercises to reiterate the material and
help them memorize it, and this helped the kids to become excited about learning English. The
kids were very excited about participating and contributing to the lessons, which made my job
quite easy! It was also a unique experience for them to have an English native speaker as a
teacher to help with pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, but I wanted them also to get
excited about our cultures, because I thought they might not care about learning English
otherwise. I structured every lesson around language learning, but then always incorporated
information about American and English cultures and traditions that were totally foreign to them,
and this often resulted in them explaining how it is in Italy to me. These cross-cultural dialogues
were really interesting for all of us, as it gave us the opportunity to better understand each of the
different cultures, as well as a chance to question our own. (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Michael Vanacore (Undergraduate)
Associazione “Didò”
Spring 2008
During the second semester of the academic year 2007-2008, I interned with the organization
DIDO', an association based at the Museum of Natural History of Ferrara. This organization
works towards sparking and developing interest in the sciences and the environment in pre-
university students. I assisted in the operation of didactic activities both in the museum and
beyond: outside of the museum we conducted activities in schools and various natural habitats in
the area surrounding Ferrara. I very much appreciate my time spent with DIDO'. It brought to
light for me certain facets of the italian education system, provided me with the opportunity to
meet, work and develop relationships with a very special and dedicated group of people, and
exposed me to a very specific italian reality: that of the youth of the provinces of Ferrara and
Rovigo. Regarding the education system, I see it as lacking in two fundamental areas: money and
culture.First, there is a grave absence of political and economic support and vision for education
in the sciences. The result of this is that an association such as DIDO' is reduced to using out-of
date, poor and insufficient resources, and so is severely limited. Second, there is not a 'culture of
the sciences', as I might call it, like there is in the US. At least from what I have seen, in
elementary, middle and even high school the sciences seem to be treated almost superfluosly;
students do not seem to be instilled with neither passion nor respect for the various
environmental and scientific disciplines. These two things combined render nearly everything an
uphill battle for DIDO'. As far as the people go, this was perhaps the best part of my experience
with this organization. The members of DIDO' are without exception all passionate, highly
trained and knowledgeable specialists who have devoted themselves to various degrees to
DIDO'. Unfortunately, the whole thing can seem overwhelming and hopeless at times: they get
paid very little, if at all; almost all of them end up working in sectors that have nothing to do
with their areas of specialization; and there are of course the obstacles mentioned earlier.
However, these people have formed a great and devoted group, offering each other open
friendship, laughter and solidarity. I count myself very fortunate and honored to have met and
befriended them, both individually and as a group. Finally, I got a chance to see a little into the
lives of the young people of this part of Italy, and even make some friends among them. This
proved to be both very challenging and equally stimulating: linguistically, emotionally, mentally
and personally. Perhaps above all, I developed a greater awareness of an confidence in my
capacity for working with children and teenagers, both as something instinctual and also as a
skill to be consciously developed. As a reflection, I would suggest that ways be found somehow
for the intern to be involved more actively in the activities operated by DIDO'. I think that if this
occurred the interns from Middlebury could be put to good use in the future in helping DIDO'
move forward. (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Scott Gratton (Undergraduate)
Associazione “IBO Italia”
Spring 2008
IBO Italia is a non-governmental, missionary organization that sets up work camps for
volunteers in cities across Italy, Europe and third-world countries. I joined the family of IBO
Italia for twelve glorious weeks, and as one can tell by my use of ‗glorious‘, the experience was
nothing short of amazing. I am terrible at meeting an entire group of new people, let alone in a
new language, thus making my first few weeks very awkward. But, after receiving my
assignments (which included translating documents for the European Volunteer Service or
finding internet search engines that would accept the notion of adding the name IBO Italia to
their list of organizations) everything became very doable and actually quite comfortable.
Everyone at this organization is beyond nice; they really become your Italian family. You
especially feel a part of the family when you happen to work during lunch hours, and you all stop
work for 1-2 hours to eat a free, family style lunch around the table in the kitchen. My favorite
memories of this internship came from these shared lunches. I loved working at IBO Italia, and I
would greatly suggest others to test their feet in the waters of this missionary organization; you
will not regret it. (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Marie Horbar (Undergraduate)
Istituto di Storia Contemporanea
Spring 2008
Shaking the hand of a partigiano (resistance fighter against the Nazis during WWII) was one real
highlight of my semester at the Contemporary History Institute in Ferrara. Other highlights
included meeting some of the most wonderful, intelligent, and caring people, having some of the
most interesting conversations (academic and non-academic), and getting the opportunity to
explore primary resources and the vast library of the Institute. Not to mention all the chocolate
and coffee that was consumed while working…I decided to do a Middlebury independent study
about the Jewish community of Ferrara and connect it to my internship this semester. I highly
recommend to anyone that has an idea for an Italian and historically-related study project to also
do an internship at the Institute. The institute will allow you to study resources that otherwise
would be difficult to find and perhaps connect you with other people around the city of Ferrara
that would be helpful in regards to your project. Besides the academic advantages, at the Institute
you get to spend time with the kindest people who are willing to chat about everything from
Berlusconi to their pets to the situation of the Jews in Ferrara to the best tenerina (chocolate
desert) in town. In conversations with these people, I learned a lot about contemporary Italy, the
Italian language, and also this wonderful city that is overflowing with history. And this history
often walked right through the door of the Institute. This is how I got to shake the hand of the
famous Ferrara partigiano who helped bring WWII to a close. (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Ann McGrane (Undergraduate)
Istituto di Storia Contemporanea
Fall 2007
If you have even the slightest interest in contemporary European history, I would recommend the
internship at the Contemporary History Institute of Ferrara. While working at the institute, I had
full access to its collection of books and newspapers from the past century. Some of my most
interesting moments involved looking at newspapers from the 1950s and reading about events as
they happened. The situation in Hungary in October 1956 was particularly riveting, since I read
about it in two different Italian newspapers that had very diverse political biases. Additionally,
talking with my co-workers and reading the various books greatly improved my Italian language
skills. This internship allowed me to view Italian life from a different perspective than that of a
university student. I found it to be a very nice complement to the university classes. (Credit-
Bearing Internship)
Rebecca Swartz (Undergraduate)
Dipartimento di Biochimica e Biologia Moleculare - Laboratorio di Roberta Piva,
Università di Ferrara
Fall 2007
After completing three courses of chemistry (including J-term orgo), the dreaded organelles and
cells, and phsyics in my sophomore year at Middlebury, I thought that I was entirely ready for a
semester free of any and all scientific thought in Ferrara. However, being the molecular
biology/biochemistry and not pre-med (shocker, I know) major that I am, I could not resist the
opportunity to spend my free-time playing in the lab. I went to my interview nervous and ready
to try to impress a cold professor with my lab experience but was met instead by a warm group
of women who, rather than wanting to know why I was better for the internship that an Italian
student, wanted to know when I could start. The internship at the department of biochemistry
was one of the most rewarding experiences that I had while in Ferrara. I was able to increase my
research experience while improving my Italian. My main responsibilities were maintaining cell
cultures and performing tests on the cells. I also corrected lab reports for English, an unexpected
opportunity to contribute to the lab that was appreciated more than I would have expected.
Although my internship was not for credit, it was well worth the time and effort because I built
relationships with scientists of diverse age groups, as well as experiencing and contributing to an
evermore global community of scientific research. I highly recommend trying to do an internship
in the sciences to anyone who is interested in performing research as a career. It is an extremely
unique opportunity that few other students will be able to have. (Non Credit-Bearing Internship)
Emilie McDonald (Undergraduate)
Instituto di Storia Contemporeanea
Spring 2006
―So… What was it like to attend the Italian University?‖ This very question is, (of course),
inevitably asked at every information session that is held for prospect victims, I mean, students,
rather who are thinking about studying abroad in Ferrara, Italy. The directors and past
participants of the program who host these meetings always involuntarily meet this particular
question with a sneering—(yet strangely endearing) —grin; then they pass one another a probing
glance (―should you tell them or should I?‖); and follow with a, a careful, hesitant response:
―Well… let‘s just say its different than what you‘re used to here at Middlebury...‖Truly, it‘s no
secret or sham-stereotype that the Italian University System is much less structured, more
chaotic, less predictable, and more disorganized—than the machine that we young American
scholars have been trained by. However, students who choose to spend their semesters abroad in
Ferrara, Italy do not (or at least should not) do so expecting to study under professors quite as
engaging… or attend classes quite as stimulating--as to match the up-to-par-promise of our little
College in the Green Mountains…Just a look beyond the walls of the classroom—yet still within
the famous walls of the city and one is greeted by the smell of the bread at the bakery that is
always fresh; the sound of the trains at the station that are never on time; and the feel of any
perfectly random warm-yet-breezy Wednesday night (metaphorically) charged with (literally)
hundreds of lively university students: Hear them greeting each other with kisses on both cheeks,
laughing from their bellies with their heads thrown back, and loudly banging out rhythms on
acoustic guitars. See them all packed like happy sardines into the piazza that lies in the center of
town, in front of the ancient Cathedral, and just cobblestones down the road from the castle (yes,
castle! Complete with a mote and drawbridge and all...). Actually, the piazza is actually
equidistant from a McDonald‘s on the other side… but I‘m getting off subject now… (or perhaps
I was never on it to begin with) …Anyways, all I‘m really trying point out is that Ferrara is a
unique, intimate, and yes, even enchanting Italian city that offers people, places, and experiences
that speaks to- and awakens all of one‘s senses… And that is precisely why students do (and
should) choose to study there. By opting to do an internship, one is opening a door to a complete
other side of Italian lifestyle, one that simply cannot be would otherwise obtained – at the
university or at a café with friends be kept unknown. As for me and my case, interning at the
Ferrara‘s Institute of Contemporary History, I enjoyed actively participating in safe and sound
Italian work environment, comparing and contrasting it to the American model of work as I
know it. At the Institute, I was almost constantly exposed to Italian conversation, which differed
from everyday conversations in that they were intelligent and professional yet at the same time;
unplanned, uncensored; honest and unapologetic-- with the mellow drone of the soft euro-pop
coming from the Italian radio in the background. Needless to say, my confidence, my
comprehension, and my use of the beautiful Italian language (both spoken and written) was
strengthened and enhanced. My time spent as an intern also presented me with an opportunity to
form social connections with people of generations. It gave me a much better understanding of
Italian politics. Finally, I was given as well to chance to hone my communicative and
organizational skills, which is good because these skills will always come in handy no matter
what the future holds… (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Madhavi Rao (Undergraduate)
Institute of Contemporary History
Spring 2006
The resources at the Institute of Contemporary History at Ferrara extend far beyond the library
and its archives. My internship brought me in contact with students, writers, and historians all
extremely passionate about Italian history, culture, and politics, and in interacting with them I
vastly improved my speaking and writing skills while broadening my knowledge of the country‘s
history. I found my supervisor to be of enormous help, not only with regard to my work
cataloging documents in the archive and preparing conferences and presentations, but also as an
excellent source of advice concerning travel, literature, cooking and local events. I feel very
fortunate to have had an opportunity such as this; not only perfectly suited to my interests, the
internship afforded me a new perspective on academic careers and added a new dimension, that
of the Italian working environment, to my study abroad experience. My year abroad was
significantly enhanced by what I learned from my work and colleagues, and highly recommend
that others take advantage of similar opportunities. (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Margaret Luppino (Undergraduate)
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Spring 2006
I began my internship at the end of February at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, one of
the branches of the many National Research Councils in Italy. Situated on the outskirts of
Padova in the industrial zone, it is made up of a collection of low buildings, each one housing a
different research branch. I was based in the IRPI building, Istituto Ricerche per la Protezione
Idrogeologico, or the Research Institute for geo-hydrological protection, which had the role of
researching landslide and flood risk management techniques. During my internship, I was
introduced to many of the tools used by the geologists and engineers, such as radar, GPS, and
aerial photography to map changes in the topography of slopes, and thus monitor or detect mass
movements. I was also given the task of researching a historical landslide of my choice, and was
able to use the extensive resources available at CNR to write up a final report on the Vajont
landslide of 1963. At the same time, I learned a good deal about the profession of a geologist and
what the current situation is for research geologists in Italy by observing and asking questions. I
truly enjoyed this internship because it combined my knowledge of geology and the Italian
language and culture, which up until that point I had always studied as two subjects that had
nothing in common. (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Brooke Adams (Undergraduate)
Istituto di Storia Contemporanea
Fall 2005
Although having an internship may often require more of a time commitment than a class itself, I
thoroughly enjoyed my semester working at the Institute of Contemporary History of Ferrara. It
allowed me to interact in an academic environment unlike that of the classrooms of the university,
while still maintaining personal relationships with my co-workers. Looking back on the semester, I
was very fortunate to have an internship that even pertained to my major and interests. When I
began working there in October, I immediately found a book that I was interested in reading from
the Institute's library. Naturally, with studying for my classes and traveling frequently, I could not
read a new book every week, but I was pleased to know that the resources were always there if I
wanted them. This summer, I hope to be able to return to the Institute to begin research for my
thesis. My internship at the Institute of Contemporary History was a very holistic experience for
me. Not only did I see my interests in history and international studies grow, but my knowledge of
"Ferrarese" culture and traditions strengthened, and my speaking capabilities improved drastically
as well. Having this internship was an unforgettable experience, and I strongly suggest that others
pursue internships while abroad. (Credit-Bearing Internship)
Allegra Morosani (Undergraduate)
Ufficio Relazioni Internazionali, Comune di Ferrara
Fall 2005
I was working as a general intern for the Office of International Relations of the Municipality of
Ferrara. For twelve hours a week I helped with the administrative running of their office, which
functions primarily as a link for international exchanges for youth, students, artists, musicians, and
adults from all over the world. A lot of what I did was translation, from Italian to English and
English to Italian, of official documents from other countries. I also served as the general English
speaker of the office—I helped my colleagues write letters, and when a Japanese mayor and his
delegation came for an official visit with the mayor of Ferrara, I acted as their English-speaking
host and guide. The highlight of my internship experience was when I participated as the sole
translator in a daylong conference on the environment held by forty delegates from various Italian,
French, German and English communities.The greatest advantage of doing this internship was the
confidence it brought me in my professional standing. My boss threw me headfirst into a lot of
challenging situations, such as translating the environmental conference, or sending me out to
unknown offices to get papers signed. Another benefit of my internship was the wealth of
opportunities I was given for improving my written and spoken Italian. The office secretary would
often sit me down with one of my written English to Italian translations, and she would take me
step-by-step through every error I had made, tell me why it was wrong and how I could improve
what I had written. It was like having a private writing tutor. Also, I got to know how the
government of a medium-sized Italian city runs. I often delivered letters to the Mayor's office, and
got to know people working all over the city. And last but certainly not least, I met a lot of nice,
welcoming people. (Credit-Bearing Internship)