‘European perspective’ key to student’s internship in Italy
Global | Aug 17, 2016 | Claire Curry
Maurizio Viselli, BS ’17
An invitation to a new co-worker’s wedding in southern Italy was an unexpected perk of Maurizio Viselli’s summer internship in the Rome office of PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Viselli, BS ’17, an applied accounting and finance major, said that compared with American weddings, there was no dancing but far more dining, with endless courses served between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
The PwC internship, which grew out of a spring study-abroad experience at the University of Rome, was a dream addition to Viselli’s résumé. Assigned to the firm’s transfer pricing division, he learned a “tremendous amount about transfer pricing, which is unique in every country.”
“Most interns don’t get the European perspective,” Viselli said. “I am developing a skill set that is completely different from anything I could learn in the United States or even in the classroom. Nothing can replace that.”
In addition to a hands-on education in finance, the internship also has helped Viselli hone his language skills in Italian—his minor at Fordham, and the language he grew up speaking in his family’s home in Connecticut.
“In the office, we speak Italian,” he said. “My co-workers here speak wonderful English, way better than my Italian.” The combination of finance and language immersion is ideal for Viselli’s aspirations toward a career in global business.
A member of the Gabelli School’s Finance Scholars, Viselli is a recipient of the George Brooks Memorial Award and the university’s Jogues Scholarship, both awarded for academic excellence. He previously studied abroad in London in addition to Rome, and he worked at The Nielson Company as an international tax and compliance intern.
Viselli is a trustee of the Knights of Columbus and enjoys volunteering at his church and for a nonprofit that supports children with cancer. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Italy.
So what’s different about working in a professional office in Italy versus one in New York?
“Coffee breaks,” Viselli reported. “In American offices, people never get up from their desks. Here, the days are just as long, and we work just as hard, but we do stop for coffee a lot. It’s a really good way to get to know your colleagues.”
