Middlebury Interns Are Working in Milan

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Four Middlebury College students, together with four undergraduates from Lehigh University, are in Milan, Italy, this summer embarking upon internships in communications.

The Middlebury students – Alejandra Chavez ’19, of Chicago; Veronica Estudillo Velasco ’19, of Mexico City; Tabitha Mueller ’18, of Sheridan, Ore.; and Hope Welder ’18, of San Marino, Cal. – were placed with for-profit organizations that are making use of their writing, research, digital, and English language skills.

Chavez, Estudillo Velasco, and Mueller are interning at Luxos, the Milan-based publisher of magazines and international tourist guides, as digital developers and content writers. Welder is at the communications and public relations firm Mirò Comunicazione assisting with social media and public relations projects.

The program in Italy is organized by IES Abroad and led by the chair of Lehigh University’s Department of Journalism and Communications, Professor Jack Lule. The program is offered at Middlebury via the Center for Careers and Internships, and it is funded through the generosity of Kathryn Iacocca Hentz ’81 P’11 ’16 and Ned C. Hentz ’80 P’11 ’16 on behalf of the Iacocca Family Foundation.

The eight interns will work from May 29 to July 14 in Milan, which is considered one of Europe’s most dynamic cities. According to the program description, the students “will be immersed in a global cosmopolitan setting; gain valuable technical and interpersonal skills; learn industry norms; and attain fundamental Italian language skills (or advance their current proficiency); and obtain an understanding of the Italian workplace and culture.”

The four Middlebury students were selected for this pilot program on the basis of their applications and interviews, and a degree of proficiency in the Italian language was preferred.

The internships are unpaid, but all of the Middlebury students’ expenses, including round-trip airfare from New York, housing, most meals, and excursions, are covered by the Iacocca Family Foundation.