Even though I have been here in Italy since September, and it’s been nearly three months, I still struggle to adapt to the amount of free time that seems typical in Italian culture. Growing up in the United States and being involved in many clubs, activities, and rigorous coursework, I always knew there was something…
Category: Internship
Friendly Firenze
I feel like I’m pretty well adjusted to Florence, and I thought that I was getting better at blending in with Italians now that I am halfway through my program. But this week has proven otherwise. Although I know now how to navigate the train station and buy museum tickets like a local, today I…
Becoming a Firenze Fiend
Hello everyone, my name is Hailey Latona and I am a senior studying the joint Mathematics-Economics major and a business minor. If you have been reading for a while, you might recognize my name since this is actually my second time studying abroad. Two summers ago, I studied Comparative Economics in Central Europe, and this…
Post-Trip: Potsdam, Cologne, Brussels, Antwerpen, & Luxembourg
As my internship at Vencon Research draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on a journey that went far beyond the work itself. This experience has been a profound blend of professional growth, cultural immersion, and personal discovery—all set against the backdrop of an incredible city and an even more incredible continent. The last…
Week 8: Budapest, Timisoara, & Bratislava
This week at Vencon, I continued refining our Prospective Client Scoring Model while balancing smaller research requests from the senior team. The work has shifted from heavy research to fine-tuning: making sure the framework captures the right criteria, reflects market realities, and is easy to use across teams. Presenting these refinements means I’ve had to…
Week 7: Copenhagen
This week, the journey completely overshadowed the destination. Right after work on Friday, I headed to the train station, excited to meet my roommate in Copenhagen. She’d already arrived earlier that afternoon. I, on the other hand, took the scenic route—two canceled trains and four transfers later, I finally arrived around 3:30 a.m. The ride…
Week 6: Prague, Sächsische Schweiz, Dresden, & Hamburg
This week didn’t start in Berlin but in Prague, where I reunited with my parents, fresh off their flight from the U.S. I arrived by train at 3 AM—exhausted but alert—knowing they would be nervous navigating a new country. The station was quiet, the streets nearly empty, and I found myself slipping into the role…
Week 5: Warsaw, Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia, & Szczecin
I wrapped up another week at Vencon presenting my mid-point progress on the Prospective Client Scoring Model. My fellow intern and I have been pouring everything we have into making the model as precise and useful as possible, driven by that mix of excitement and pressure to deliver something meaningful to the team. It’s been…
Week 4: Amsterdam, The Hague, & Rotterdam
After wrapping up a two-day project at Vencon, I took a solo weekend trip to Amsterdam. As soon as I clocked out on Friday, I boarded an overnight ICE train and arrived around 10 a.m. The city immediately captivated me, so effortlessly beautiful. Narrow houses with intricate architecture lined the canals, each bridge adorned with…
Week 3: Vienna Reflections
Over the long weekend, I traveled to Vienna with fellow members of the Berlin Internship cohort, taking advantage of Pfingstmontag (Whit Monday), a national holiday that provided a day off from work. This trip offered an ideal opportunity to step back from daily responsibilities, explore a new city, and gain fresh perspectives. The train journey…