Ciao!
In Florence, I am interning at a lovely Australian-American bakery called Melaleuca located along the Arno River; they provide a gorgeous view of the town through the open space which creates a perfect work/ study environment, and that is on top of the fantastic brunch food, pastries, and coffees they serve. I am an operations and efficiency intern and have been aiding the owners in standardizing their procedures utilizing my previous experience working in food and hospitality. I have been able to work with many different formatting programs, such as Canva and Linktree to create an easier and aesthetically pleasing experience for guests and potential investors alike. I have been enjoying my time getting to know the employees and learning casual Italian along with the academic class.
As my major is Supply Chain Management, I am excited at the future opportunity to aid in locating new suppliers, and dually learn about the differing food products that are available around the Tuscan countryside, as only the freshest local food is of standard to the bakery. I feel I am able to improve and gain both soft and hard skills during this experience, as the English spoken within the management team allows for great communication and therefore collaborative creation that will be very beneficial in my eventual working in large business teams. The exposure to first-hand experience in management is extremely insightful, as I have come to understand the reasoning behind specific changes and how involved growing a business truly is. It is absolutely vital within the food and hospitality industry to be informed of operations as much as possible, whether that be state of the staff wellbeing or timing of deliveries to maintain freshness; such skills I hope to gain and develop during my time interning at the bakery.
My high score as a Maximizer within the Clifton Strengths gives me the confidence to be personal within my workgroup, which stimulates collaboration and allows me to understand the goals of the owners realistically. Within this setting, the tensions are not at all new to me. Working in food and hospitality service for most of my life, I am used to the high strung and stressful nature of working in a restaurant, especially one as popular yet small size-wise as Melaleuca. The environment can be very intense at times, however I have been able to practice time management in quickly working with my supervisors when available, and working by myself or remotely to fulfill the needs of the restaurant. I have truly been enjoying my time interning and find the exposure to the Italian culture within the customers and employees has been extremely beneficial to my future pursuits in International Business.
Arrivederci!
