ITAL 222X Italian Professional Internship

“Taking Italian 222 was an incredibly rewarding and enriching experience that went far beyond the classroom. The course not only strengthened my language skills, but also provided me with a unique opportunity to apply them in a professional setting. Through the program, I was matched with an internship in my desired field of entertainment, which allowed me to gain hands-on experience in a career path I am passionate about.

During the internship, I was able to practice Italian and integrate the language into real-world tasks, which deepened my fluency and confidence. This practical application reinforced what I had learned academically, making the experience both intellectually stimulating and professionally relevant. Beyond language use, the internship gave me valuable industry exposure, broadened my network, and offered insight into international perspectives within entertainment. Italian 222 was a fantastic course that not only expanded my cultural and linguistic knowledge but also helped me take meaningful steps forward in my career development.”

“Working with Professor Pugelli (USC) was an extremely rewarding experience. As an educator, she was a very patient individual with me, and encouraging whenever I was unsure about tasks, guiding me through expectations step-by-step at times, and overall improving my professional fluency in Italian. In the changing professional landscape, my internship with her was a research based internship where I helped her research and compile sources on management and organizational psychology. My background in psychology gave me some previous insight into this world of knowledge and work, but the point of an internship is to explore your academic interests, wherein this internship allowed me to build upon existing skills in psychology, but towards a management direction.

On any level, doing internships is meant to explore your interests and narrow down a function or a job to get to the career path you hope to eventually stay in, and the insights I’ve gleaned from this internship and others through this program has changed the trajectory of my professional path.”

“Since the midterm, my role at the Italian American Chamber of Commerce West (IACCW) has evolved significantly. My initial responsibilities centred around event coordination and administrative support, with an emphasis on logistics for events such as United Nations Day and the Italian Excellence Gala & Awards. I took on greater responsibilities that included guest reception, coordination of award presentations, and networking with event participants at the Gala. All of these tasks have enabled me to understand the inner workings of the IACCW, its ties with businesses in Italy, and the larger trade industry internationally. My exposure to this has been of invaluable help.”

“Working at the Tony Gaudio Foundation for the Cinematic Arts was one of the highlights of my Italian experience at USC. While there, I was able to combine my love of movies with an amazing opportunity to practice Italian, enriching my understanding of both. Gino and Mary were amazing mentors who were very welcoming towards me, and I always felt that the work I was doing mattered. I highly recommend this opportunity to anybody looking to pursue film, practice Italian, and meet amazing people.”

“This experience made me think a lot about my future career. What I enjoyed most was watching the teachers work and getting to brainstorm classroom activities. That part felt exciting and made me consider that working in education could be something I look into more seriously. I also learned a lot about how small organizations like Fondazione Italia work. It’s not always easy when it comes to things like marketing. Because there are limited funds and you have to be careful about how you spend time and money. I also saw how teaching kids has its own set of challenges, with all the extra planning and restrictions that come with it. It definitely gave me more appreciation for the work that goes into both teaching and running a small nonprofit.” 

“In my second semester at USC, I had the opportunity to take the internship course with Professor Ricciardelli (ITA-222). The course gave me the chance to do volunteer work at one of the most interesting Italian museums in California—the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles.
I study History and Archaeology and have a minor in Italian, so working at this museum was a transformative experience. There, I learned a lot about event organization and museum education. And, of course, I had the opportunity to use Italian in real life, not just in the classroom, while also learning vocabulary relevant to my work. This experience strengthened my passion for Italian culture and for my field of study!”