My name is Ariana Basilio, and I am an American finance and international business student doing a semester abroad in Rome. It has been such a privilege for me to intern at ORA Comunica for the past month and a half. I am the first American intern, or “tirocinante” as they say in Italian, that ORA has ever worked with, and I do not take that honor for granted. As this has been not only my first time working with an Italian agency, but also my first time working in a professional company of this scope, my experience at ORA has provided me a valuable window into both a professional and a cross-cultural work environment.

The daily work

Working at ORA, in addition to helping the staff with their English, I was taught the basics of web design, learned about the creative process, translated web pages and articles into English for various clients, translated internal documents, attended meetings, aided in the creation of a strategic plan, and wrote Instagram captions for clients. I loved expanding my professional skill set and practicing immediate application of the new things I learned. I practiced researching, creating, receiving feedback, and making the necessary edits, and adapting to differences in how things are expressed in Italian and English, as well as to differences in perspective between an Italian eye and an American one. I remember a time I was shown various poster ideas and asked my opinion, and of the designs, in response to one that drew my eye I was told that it had a very American style.

Although I had spent considerable time in the United States working on my Italian language skills, I unfortunately did not come into this experience fluent, but my presence has been very impactful in improving the staff’s English skills. I started my experience in the middle of several ongoing projects and this of course meant that I had to learn how to juggle in the working context first, but despite all of that, I was met with great patience, encouragement, kindness, and trust from the staff. They readily included me and frequently offered to help explain things to me if I needed extra clarification. Through their help and encouragement, I was able to learn effectively and contribute meaningful work to the company.

The mood

Because ORA already has sufficient and skilled employees, I was often asked what I would like to learn and paired with whomever worked in that area. I most frequently worked with Federico, who taught me web design, and Allegra, who created social media captions and took the most initiative in practicing her English. The work environment here is very casual, often filled with lively discussions and a jovial atmosphere, but balanced by periods of focused, independent work. Unlike in the United States, WhatsApp was used more than email, lunch break lasted a full hour and a half, and people regularly, regardless of their position, made coffee for everyone. It appears that partaking in drinking coffee was very important to them as well; my boss quickly noticed that I do not like coffee very much, and generously remedied the situation by ordering ginseng K-cups so I could join in with something I enjoyed. Another thing I soon noticed upon arrival was that everyone typed on their computers differently from the way I was taught.

The future

In conclusion, I am very grateful for my experience at ORA and for the ways it has developed me both professionally and personally. I know I will look back on this time for years to come as a special experience I was fortunate to have early in my professional development, and that it will serve as a benchmark for future career endeavors. Because of my time here, I will be able to view workplace norms with new eyes and consider what values and culture they may imply. I have learned the importance of context, in addition to language skills, for integration into a workplace, and the value of patience, kindness, encouragement, and adaptability when working with those who have less experience than yourself.

To Luca and everyone else at ORA who took the time to invest in me: thank you.

Sinceramente,

Ariana Basilio