Alfred State business administration major Emma DeJonge (Wellsville) took advantage of an opportunity to gain work experience while exploring the world. DeJonge spent her summer interning at the Hotel Admiral, located in Sorrento, Italy, right on the water across from Mount Vesuvius.
Emma DeJonge enjoys summer internship overseas
DeJonge has enjoyed traveling and wanted to explore more. “My sister lives in Japan and I visited her and thought it was the most amazing experience. I would love to work in a different state or nation and when I saw this opportunity it drew me to Italy.”
While reading the daily student announcement email, DeJonge read about the summer internship run through Sant’Anna Institute. After getting more information and watching a video about the opportunity she was ready to find out more.
“I asked my advisor about the internship, and she set me up with the people that I needed to contact. I connected the right people at Alfred and at Sant’Anna and everything was worked out.”
DeJonge worked at the reception desk at the hotel. In her role she checked in and out guests, answered phones, did some filing, billing, and attended to guests’ needs and requests. In her normal duties, she was able to apply the skills she has learned in the classrooms at Alfred State.
“We marketed and advertised for many of our events like fun dining experiences and special live music. I was able to create surveys for guests to see how we were doing and what we could improve. I also created flyers that gave guests information on local attractions.”
She used tools like Excel for data entry and capped the experience by presenting what she had experienced to help the business plan for the future.
“I gained experience communicating with my team and customers. Problem solving and cultural awareness were involved in everything.”
DeJonge encourages others to investigate opportunities for internships overseas. “It’s an amazing experience and there’s nothing like it. I really liked the hands-on experience.”
She continued, “In the classroom, you learn about all these things, but (in an experience like this) you can apply it to real-world situations. To do this in a different country, it's even better because you really get to understand different perspectives. The trip was good for networking. I met so many people from around the world there and even got job offers.”
Outside of work, DeJonge’s favorite part of the experience was traveling outside of Italy. “Switzerland was the one place I wanted to go to in the world. Sant’Anna helped me plan the trip and my co-workers helped me to figure out the transportation.”
The experience has DeJonge considering exploring career opportunities outside the United States. “I would be interested in a job overseas. They have programs for advanced education and it’s a good way to get your foot in the door.”
Alfred State offers internship and study away services to all students. Amanda Maynes, located in the Student Development Center, serves as the Coordinator of Internship & Study Away (https://www.alfredstate.edu/academics/applied-learning-internships/program-internships).