5 Lessons Learned from Studying Abroad

Over the last year I have had the unique opportunity to not only attend MIP Graduate School of Business in Milan, but also was able to study for 2 weeks in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. The last year has been a wealth of experiences, lessons learned, challenges, and growing both personally and professionally. 

1) Learn from Other Cultures:

Studying in Milan and in Barcelona allows you to expand and grow by learning from and alongside students from all over the world

2) Travel, Eat, and Experience:

When visiting a new city or country, the first thing to do is try the local cuisine and look up all the amazing history and sights to see.  Barcelona is a wealth of experiences. Oh and the food is top notch!

3) Wealth of Knowledge from Professors:

When studying in a new city you are exposed to new professors and industry experts to learn from, as well as adding to your professional network.

4) Professional and Personal Networking:

Studying abroad allows you to meet, connect, and network with people from around the world, growing your network to have a wide reach. This is excellent for job search, knowledge, finding a mentor, etc

5) Cultural Differences:

Every culture is different and different cultures have different views and respond differently to marketing, advertising, new products, etc. Being able to learn about these differences is key in working for a Multi-National or Global Company.

When studying abroad, depending on where you come from, where you are going to, and how you look at and attack your time there will shape and define your experience. Make it unique and make it your own. 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain 

Grad School Adventures: Work Life Balance: Student Edition

Work Life Balance: Student Edition

Too often we find ourselves opening up the Facebook app on our phones only to realize that 20 minutes later we are still scrolling our news feed. Too often we tell ourselves, just one more episode on Netflix, to it being 3 shows and hours later.

Why do many, if not all of us, have trouble finding balance?

Balancing our lives as students is tough, and we have to focus on the small habits we can form that will help find balance in a crazy, connected world.

What is balance anyway?

Balance is establishing equal or appropriate proportions of elements in life.

Why is this important as a Master’s Student studying abroad?

Simple: Everyday you have to balance school, personal and a social life. When living and studying in a foreign country you want to “take it all in” and “make the most of the opportunity”; but how? Some people only focus on school and forget to explore new cultures and discover new places in what is truly a one-in-a-lifetime experience they might never have an opportunity like this again. Some others however might explore too much and forget why they are here.

Finding harmony in each/every situation is an important life skill, and one that you might never quite master but continue to tweak with time -and experience along the way. We all have a long list of to-do’s and bucket lists; so how can you start channeling your energy to focus in on better balance?

1)   Sharpen your Focus and Clear your Runway Mind

•       Prioritize what needs to be done. Take the most important task first and accomplish so you can cross it off your list!

2) Create/Establish clearly defined Boundaries

•       Establish the categories of what you want to focus on in both school and personally and rate them

•       Focus on completing these weekly goals

3) Establish me time to work out, relax, and enjoy life!

•       It is no secret that top entrepreneurs and CEO’s talk about the importance of physical activity and adventure, plan it into your daily routine. Find the me time to help you re-center and re-energize!

The most important thing is to understand that there needs to be a balance between your school or work life and your social life. What works for one person may be a little different for someone else. BUT following a few simple steps with a focused and conscious effort and you can find your own balance. Keep in mind that we create our own energy; attack life with passion, proactivity and positivity, and focus on how you can achieve each goal.

Feel free to comment or connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter @RobbyNap!

Grad School Adventures: "Rome"

“Rome”

They call it the “Eternal City”, and eternal and magical it is. I had the pleasure of spending 4 days in Rome last weekend and that was not enough time to spend in the city. There is something to be said about spending time in such a dirty city, where people and trash are everywhere, and public transportation is always packed and unreliable. But the city is full of wonders, it was for a long time in the history of the world, the center of civilization. From the moment we arrived you could feel the pulse and buzz of the city. They say that “all roads lead to Rome”, and it is true! In Europe there are over a 1/2 million roads that lead to Rome.

The architecture and food were amazing! I had the best Carbonara in Rome at a wonderful restaurant called Polese, located at Piazza Sforza Cesarini, 40 Roma. And bonus they had a framed note from the Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball team from a meal that they had while playing in Roma. Also Christine took me to this little Take Away Pizza Shop and it might have been the best pizza I have ever tried, and it is right across from what the Roman’s call the “Cat Sanctuary” which are ruins from 3 old temples, and is right across from the Theater where Caesar was stabbed before being carried to the Roman Forum.

While in Rome, Christine who had lived in Rome for a total of 8 months, was my tour guide. This was both good and bad as she had a lot of good insight, but also was so excited to show me everything that we were always on the move. We started off by visiting the Trevi Fountain, which was probably my favorite moment. It was gorgeous! I threw 3 coins in the fountain; the legend is 1 coin and you will return to Rome, 2 coins and you will find love, and 3 coins for marriage. We also visited Campo di Fiori, translated to English as “Field of Flowers” because the entire piazza was covered in flower boxes hanging from the windows as this was the place where unfortunately, people were burned at the stake. During the day it is an awesome fresh food market, and by night the area where many American students hang out one of the many cool bars in the piazza. 

In Piazza Navona there is a beautiful statue by Bernini that represents at the time, the 4 continents, Europe, Americas, Africa, and Asia. The piazza used to be a circus for water sports and now is a great artsy area. For those that may have seen the show “Rome” on HBO we visited the Aventine Hill, as well as visiting Capitoline Hill which features a HUGE Monument to Vittorio Emanuelle. This was built by Mussolini as his capital building which is known as the “wedding cake” building, and the piazza is where he held his military addresses and training.

Colosseum

Trevi Foun

We also visiting the Colosseum, the Pantheon, walked the streets of Trastevere, which is an area rich in culture where Christine lived while studying in Rome, as well as visiting the Jewish Ghetto, which is where ISU Rome Campus is located. This area still has strong Jewish roots as it was the area the Jewish were confined too during the 2nd World War. On our final day we visited Castle Sant’ Angelo and The Vatican and took in the beauty. It was absolutely gorgeous! They were setting everything up for the Jubilee which started the next day, and unfortunately were not able to tour it. 

Piazza Navona

It is hard to put into words the feeling you get from seeing these views and feeling the history everywhere. It was such an amazing experience and I cant wait to go back over New Years. Also while in Rome we hung out at a few pubs that Christine was familiar with from her time there called the Abbey Theatre and Scholars and I got to meet some of her awesome friends from her time there before. They were all extremely friendly and just a lot of fun to hang with. I have to say that when we left Rome we fully exhausted from long days of walking, and fun nights with friends. 

While there I met a very cool girl from Australia who was traveling Europe on her own and was feeling a bit lost (no physically but metaphorically) and I feel like I met her at the right time to help her see value in what she was doing but giving her some advice and letting her know about my story. We invited her out that evening with Christine’s friends and she had just the best time and ended up staying a few extra days in Rome. She happened to meet us at the time she needed it most, the Universe gave her the sign she needed. She is also a Marketing professional and she is interested in Grad School at MIP Polimi!

Pano of the Vatican Piazza

We also meet people from all over and have stories from our conversations with each one of them, but to me this is what traveling offers, rich experiences, and pure human interaction. Where people from all over the world can meet and share stories and bond and enjoy life. Traveling offers such a unique perspective and teaches you a lot about yourself and about others. I like many others used to say I will travel when I have the time, money, etc, but I am learning there really is no “perfect” time, you just have to do it! I am very thankful that I have this amazing opportunity not only to study in Italy, but also travel Europe. Once here it is very inexpensive to travel thanks to trains, Ryan Air, Easy Jet, public transportation, and AirBNB.

I challenge those who are thinking about taking a trip or to study abroad to do it. You will never regret doing it and taking the chance!

Awesome friends from the weekend at Scholar's Lounge

Christine and I in Piazza Venezia

Grad School Adventures: Week 10: "Practice Makes Perfect"

Week 10: November 23-28th

Lesson of the Week: “Practice makes perfect”

Now this is nothing new to anyone but for me it came into play this last week. Over the weekend Christine and I hosted some of our friends over for an American Thanksgiving dinner, which was deliciously prepared by yours truly…. lol jk actually it was wonderfully and deliciously prepared by Christine!

My job was to go to the store (bum bum bum) which is daunting as the Italian supermarkets are ALWAYS busy. Doesn't matter a day or time, always busy. And not entirely sure why but whenever I stop somewhere in a store in Italy, to stand out of the way, to check my phone, to cross something off a list, always and I mean always people have to come look at whatever I am standing next too. There could be no one around and when I move boom people. Coincidence?!

So Friday afternoon I embarked on my journey for a pretty long list as Christine has had one heck of a busy week at school, I managed to do well, only not finding 6 items. 

After coming home and sorting through our groceries, Christine and I planned out our attack for Saturday morning to get the remaining items, this time as I embarked on my journey, I was once again met with the challenge of not finding what I was looking for after searching all over. So what was the next logical thing to do, ask for assistance. Now this alway makes me nervous, (yes me, who loves to, and will talk to about anyone) because I get what I need to say in Italian ready, run through my lines to ensure dictation etc, and then I get to ask and freeze, and instead of use Italian, I fumble through in English and trying to talk with my hands. 

But I have been practicing, and on Saturday I was able to ask for what I needed and got it! After that when I went to one of our favorite local Egyptian Kebab places to grab a quick lunch in the midst of cooking a feast, I asked for and ordered everything in Italian only!!!  I have been trying really hard to learn Italian and been taking a class 2x a week that in graciously offered by our school. But as much as I know when doing worksheets and writing, talking is the hardest. Slowly though I am learning and practicing. And this goes to the point that practice makes perfect.If I don't try, I don't learn.

On the school front, classes have continued to pick and we have been diving into some good topics! The other day we were having a discussion around Innovation the skills of innovators. The key takeaways or top 5 skills of an innovator are:

• Questioning- be curious always, learn
• Observing- pay attention to the world around you and what people are doing and using, and how
• Networking- Network, Network, Network! And not just within your field, you need to network with others outside your field to gain valuable knowledge, insight, and ideas
• Experimenting- try and do not be afraid to fail
• Associating

We also had a lesson with the Director of Brand Fashion and Luxury give us an excellent presentation around Brand and the effect of Pricing on a brands equity. This is a big point of emphasis for company want to be positioned as a premium product and high priced, high fashion line. To counteract this and to not diminish your brand equity, companies must diversify their product and brand portfolio. We also discussed the ‘Brand Iceberg’, there is the external brand that everyone sees and knows, i.e. the logo, slogan, etc, and then there is the internal branding. This visual representation, I believe, is spot on! Living in Milano, a city known for being at the center of the fashion world, it was great to see and use examples in class of companies like Armani, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and others. It made for an interesting and intriguing lesson as the fashion industry is an industry I would be very interested in working in. 

I am excited as next week we will be competing in a Business Game Simulator. The goal is to run an airline and make decisions regarding Marketing, Pricing, Flight Options, Communications, and Network. This will be a great hands on experience putting to use our experience in strategy and positioning as well as getting to work in a multi cultural environment. This simulator will allows to make real world decisions and compete with our classmates! Next post I will make sure to let you know how it goes!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving back in the States!

As always I hope that there is a takeaway or two in here for everyone. If you have any questions or would like to discuss some of these issue more in depth feel free to write a comment or shoot me a note at robbynap87@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @RobbyNap and connect with me on LinkedIn at https://it.linkedin.com/in/robert-napoli-a5839119

Ciao Ciao!

Below is the spread from our American Thanksgiving in Milano! We shared with our friends from Egypt, Turkey, Colombia, Taiwan, and the Philippines!

Grad School Adventures: Week 5: "Never Stop Learning"

Week 5: October 19-25

Lesson of the Week: 1) Never stop learning- it is okay not to be the best at everything

**Fashion tip- Puff vest and jackets are back, seriously, just you wait USA

This lesson was definitely a more personal development lesson for me this week, and I needed the reminder. Historically, I am able to adapt, learn, and pick up things quickly, or I am just naturally good at them. It has been awhile since I haven't been one of the best in whatever I was doing; work, sports, networking, etc. A lot of things came natural and I was in the upper half of all my social circles. But living abroad has humbled and grounded me. There is a great big world out there and I was only scratching the surface. When you move abroad, you have to learn a new culture, and in most places a new language. In doing this you have to learn and practice, and then practice some more. Picking up a new language isn't something that I have been able to naturally pick up. It is proving to take work, like a lot of work. I am also continually learning to become a better listener. As I am working with classmates who’s native tongue is not English, I have to really listen and help connect the dots. And when I respond it is so easy for me to talk fast, and use more American references, rather that speaking so that I am connecting. That being said, it is also proving difficult, but then again I am sure I could use the lessons of slowing down a little bit. If you want to excel you need to continue to learn and adapt, it is easy for me to forget that sometimes. 

This was a short week of lessons, we had a Professor come in and doing a great job presenting Business to Consumer strategies. At MIP we have had the pleasure of learning from multiple professors and professionals to get a rich experience. B2B and B2C markets both fascinate me and offer similarities but are very different in the way you connect to the users. Next week is dead week and the following week is our first round of finals. This first section has been a very lecture intensive segment providing the class with the basic tools of Marketing to set the stage for what I call the sexy part of Marketing, Branding! But for now, not to get too excited and focus on studying!

In my free time, I finally got set up with a gym membership, so I can get back to training like a silverback! (inside joke for all my lifting friends) I also had the wonderful experience of going to the Italian Post Office, (which I still do not trust), but alas I had to ship a package to my mom. To send a package to the states wasn't too bad 13 euro. But when you get to the Post Italia Office you have to take a number based on what service you need, so we took our number and waited for it to be called. Shortly after we were called to the counter and were in process of sending the package, but I also wanted to sent 7 postcards to family and friends back in the States, however she was unable to help with those she only dealt with sending packages, oh and recharging your phone, she could accommodate that. So from there we had to go to another line to send postcards, which are pricey at 2 euro each. So we had to wait in line for about 15 minutes as some small company was trying to send out flyers and were arguing on price, and if you know anything about Italians they talk in circles, what could take 5 minutes, they take 20. Another 14 euro and we were out the door. Long story short, good luck in the post office, as you might have to wait in multiple queues to accomplish your visit. Another interesting tip on the Italian Way… Laws, like driving, parking, etc. they are more like suggestions, good to follow but no one does. There are not designated driving lanes, mopeds and go wherever and whenever they like, cars can and do park on sidewalks and even create parking lots in the middle of street intersections. But if you ask for food in a to go box, break a social custom.. its like you are breaking the law!

One thing that is awesome about a city like Milan is there is always something going on, from the World Expo that ends in October, to Milan Fashion Week, to this week hosting the European MTV Awards. Last night we went to a free concert at Piazza Del Duomo with Ellie Goulding and Duran Duran. It was absolutely gorgeous! 

As always I have attached some pictures!

Grad School Adventures Week 4- "Challenges"

Week 4: October 12-17th

Lesson of the Week: “As you enter the business field (first time/going back into) what value do you bring in regards to industry trends?”

This was a quote directly from one of the Executives from the Board of Directors for IBM Italia. We had an excellent seminar from IBM on the concepts of Big Data. Coming from the IT Staffing world, I spent a lot of time discussing with a large Forbes 100 company what their Big Data/ BI Strategy was and what they were looking to do. I find the concept of Big Data fascinating. I am not by any means a number guy, but the applications of Big Data and the tools that are developed/being developed to source, manage, and implement data that is relevant and useful. One of my passions is the concept of Digital Strategy and interactions online. With the use of Twitter and Facebook, businesses can launch a campaign of a new product line with a #IT (for example) and the consumers can use that to talk about that product, ie; “In line waiting to buy a new #IT” “I am loving my new #IT” or “#IT was not what I expected, very little updates or features added, #overhyped”. The company could use tools or booleans to simply search #IT on Twitter and Facebook and hone in on how customers react, and can make move accordingly. It is fascinating how a simple # has changed the face of social media marketing for business and consumers. 

In regards to the lesson, I think that for anyone looking to move jobs, change careers, or walk into an interview should prepare and walk in with this mindset. After working in staffing over the last 5 years, I have learned how to interview people, build resumes, and set people up for success. But as I was looking at my CV and working on it, I realized it has been a very long time since I was on the other end. I have spent a lot of time and with a little help of MIP Career Services, have been able to concisely and accurately present my experience. I have never felt more confident about my CV!

Switching gears, I have had the opportunity while in Italy to join an American Football Team, the Milano Seamen, and join as a Coach. I have been practicing with them during their offseason training to help coach and show techniques etc. It has been a fun experience for me to teach the game I love to a culture that does not understand or embrace it as largely as we do in the States. It has been a great way to connect to the culture and language and using it to help improve my Italian skills.

The one thing that people in blogs, and travel articles, magazines, etc don't tell you, is how hard it is to move abroad. The first few weeks were a blur sure, we had our challenges, but you still are in that “vacation” feeling phase. It is not for everyone, you have to be able to adapt and rely on yourself. You have to immerse yourself and build a network from scratch. If you are willing to overcome the fear of being afraid to try and fail and you put yourself out there, moving to another country is a rewarding and fulfilling experience and will really improve you as a person and in my case it has improved my relationship with Christine. It has allowed us to grow stronger personally and as a couple.  Understand that living abroad has so much to offer and is extremely rewarding, but those rewards are not without risk and struggle. Nothing worth having or experiencing is easy. 

*Christine and I took an amazing day trip up to Lake Como and visited 2 small beautiful Italian towns, Varenna and Bellagio,  located around a Lake at the base of the Swiss Alps. The views were absolutely stunning, definitely a must go if you are in Milano and want a day trip out of the city that is extremely affordable, the train tickets were 12 euros each for round trip! While in Varenna, I ran into an old friend from back in elementary school that I haven't seen in 20 years by chance. We live in a big beautiful world that has a way of being so small at times. When you travel, you will be amazed at how dynamic this great big world is.