{"id":1695,"date":"2020-04-14T02:52:09","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T09:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/?p=1695"},"modified":"2020-04-14T02:52:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T09:52:09","slug":"sarina-welshs-journey-through-the-new-global-communication-and-italian-ba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/2020\/04\/14\/sarina-welshs-journey-through-the-new-global-communication-and-italian-ba\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarina Welsh’s Journey Through the New Global Communication and Italian B.A."},"content":{"rendered":"

My name is Sarina Welsh and I\u2019d like to share my experience with the Global Communication and World Languages (Italian Track) B.A. program<\/a>. In this new major, students pursue fluency in a chosen language while infusing their course of study with communication theory and research. Coming into college, I had an interest in Italian because of an exchange program that I took part in when I was in high school. Initially, I wasn\u2019t sure how this interest could tie into my future career, but I was able to take classes and find opportunities that tied both Italian and Communication together.<\/p>\n

When I first came to Chapman, I declared Communication Studies as my major. However, I missed speaking Italian and the Italian culture so I decided to take more Italian classes. I took a language test since I already had some proficiency in Italian and after speaking with Professor Pacchioni<\/a>, I was able to take advanced Italian classes. Some of the classes I took were Business Italian, Italian Literature, and a class about Italian immigration. While I was able to improve and practice speaking and writing in Italian, these classes also gave me a better understanding of Italian culture and history.<\/p>\n

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Sarina with her students at Higher Ground<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In 2018, the Global Communication and World Languages major was created. I switched into this major in order to integrate my Communication classes with my Italian classes. This switch in major also gave me space to add a minor in Leadership Studies. While I was trying to figure out what I can do with my major and my passion once I graduate, I had the opportunity to create an Individual Study course with Professor Pacchioni. For this individual study, I taught a course at Higher Ground<\/a>, an after school program for kids at risk in Anaheim. The course I developed was about Italian Food and Culture. I created lesson plans, activities, and games to introduce the kids to the Italian language. The children I taught ranged from second to fifth grade. I really enjoy cooking during my free time, especially Italian food, and I wanted to share this hobby with the students in my Higher Ground class. I thought cooking would be a fun way to introduce them to the Italian culture and I integrated a few activities where I taught them how to make risotto and cannolis. It was very fulfilling to see how much the kids learned throughout the semester and it gave me insight into teaching as a possible career path.<\/p>\n

I am originally from Bangkok, Thailand and during the summer before my senior year, I went back home. I used this time to decide if I wanted to go back to Thailand after I graduate or stay in America. While I was back in Thailand that summer, I got an internship at the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce<\/a>. I was the assistant to the Deputy Secretary-General and my role was to coordinate and assist Italian companies that came to develop businesses in Thailand. I also acted as an interpreter during meetings when needed. This was hard and frustrating for me at times but I\u2019m also glad I did it because I was able to challenge myself and use Italian in a business context, which is something I\u2019ve never done before. Through this experience, I was also able to grow my resume and gain new skills and experiences.<\/p>\n

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Sarina during her summer internship in Thailand<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

During my time at the Italian Chamber of Commerce, I was able to truly see the different ways cultures communicate and how culture affects the dynamics and conversations, especially in a work environment. It reminded me of all the concepts and theories I learned in my Communication classes such as high\/low context cultures and the different power distances in each culture. Besides practicing my Italian language skills with Italian business people, I was also able to have conversations with them about various topics. I was able to apply what I learned in my Italian classes about Italian history and culture. It was an eye-opening experience and it reaffirmed why I chose to major in Global Communication and World Languages in the first place. This experience really bridged my Communication and Italian courses.<\/p>\n

Throughout my years at Chapman and thanks to the constant support of my family and professors, I was able to do an internship in Marketing Strategy for Fondazione Italia<\/a>, do a travel course in Sicily, study abroad in Rome, tutor Italian on campus, and intern at the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West<\/a>. I also helped coordinate our upcoming annual event on campus called Italian Perspective with this year\u2019s focus on Italian food and culture. Having specific knowledge about a culture and language, and knowing how to communicate with people from different cultures have been valuable skills that others have sought after.<\/p>\n

The connections I have made while studying Global Communication and World Languages have opened up many opportunities for me. I am currently thinking about working in Italy because I have enjoyed my experiences at my previous internships and because I feel prepared to function in that culture. I am also thinking about staying in America and working for an Italian company or perhaps going back to work at the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My name is Sarina Welsh and I\u2019d like to share my experience with the Global Communication and World Languages (Italian Track) B.A. program. In this new major, students pursue fluency in a chosen language while infusing their course of study … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-students"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.chapman.edu\/pacchioni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}