Reggio Emila offers lessons in sustainability, community, and culture for UNLV MBA students 

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Rita Linares A. is pursuing her master’s degree in accountancy at UNLV. She is traveling to Italy as part of the program’s international seminar which allows MBA students to take what they are learning in the classroom and see how it applies in the real world. Follow along as Rita and a few of her classmates share their experiences as part of a student travel series.

Reggio Emilia is a very prosperous region in the northern part of Italy. Its history is marked by the constant invasion of foreign countries like the Austrian Habsburg, Spanish Bourbons and the French. Nowadays, Reggio Emilia is well known for its Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production, the Reggio Emilia education approach, its rich food culture, and the home of American basketball player Kobe Bryant (especially for Italians). The people that inhabit the city are very community-oriented, kind, helpful, and caring (even with people that didn’t speak their
language).

We arrived at Reggio Emilia in the afternoon on Sunday, June 4th (day one). The old buildings, small squares, and parks welcomed us with their history and beauty. The narrow cobblestone streets made us feel like we had gone back in time. We checked in at Hotel Posta, which is considered the first hotel in Europe. This is a small and unique property with 38 rooms that date back to the 12th century. The lobby is a very small area decorated with motifs that reflect the age of the place. We had a couple of hours of free time to get situated and ready for a
University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) presentation and dinner. 

During my free time, I decided to go for a walk and enjoy what the city had to offer on a Sunday afternoon. The park was full of people, families laughing and sharing time together, children playing carelessly, couples walking holding hands, and older people going for a walk accompanied by their adult children.

After that, the USAC director made a presentation about the program in one of the original rooms of the hotel building. This room with its high ceilings and exposed rafter beams was hand painted with medieval traditional motifs. Walking into this room made me feel like Iwas in a movie about the Middle Ages. I immediately started imagining a king sitting on his throne in this same room (who knows, it might have happened at some point in time). After the presentation, we went out for a group dinner of tortelli. The food was delicious and traditional of the area.

RARE RED COWS
On the second day, we visited the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese factory. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is native to the Reggio Emilia region, and it must meet two different levels of certifications to be recognized as such. This cheese is made with milk from rare red cows, and it
was first produced by monks. Red cows are a breed that was brought to Italy by the barbarians in the early ages. With the passage of time red cows adapted to the climate of the region and became very popular, however, due to the low milk production of this kind of breed, farmers
stopped the breeding of red cows. Due to the lack of breeding, they were in danger of becoming extinct and reached a population of only 600. Later on, in the 1990s an association of breeders was formed to increase the population of the red cow and prevent the extinction of the species. The red cow is a distinguished and unique breed to the extent that only 0.5% of the total Parmigianino Reggiano is made this way. It was an excellent tour that ended with a tasting of 24-month, 30-month, and 40-month-aged cheeses. 

After the cheese factory visit, we returned to the host university to attend a fascinating lecture about food sustainability on the campus and a city tour that was accompanied by soft rain.

A FAMILY TRADITION
In the afternoon, we visited the Azienda Agricola e Agrituristica Cavazzone. Here Umberto Cavazzoni, the owner, gave us a presentation about the Balsamic vinegar he, with the help of his mother, (who is about 80 years old) produces. The production of balsamic vinegar in
Umberto’s family is a tradition that goes back centuries, which demonstrates the commitment and passion the family has to produce the balsamic vinegar that we had the opportunity to taste. We tried 2-year, 5-6-year, 10-year, and 20-year-aged balsamic. The 5-6-year was my
favorite. After this wonderful experience, we went back to the hotel and were free for the rest of the night.

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
On the third day, we went to the university for a lecture about sustainability in early childhood education. This was very interesting for me as this was my major for my first degree. We learned about the Reggio Emilia learning approach and sustainability, which focused on using non-structured material to encourage children from zero to five years old to develop, create and solve problems in unique ways. This lecture provided us with important information that was very useful when we visited ReMida recycling plant.

ReMida is not just a recycling plant, it represents the Reggio Emilia learning approach and it serves well its purpose of providing the necessary materials to teachers to help students develop their creativity. As a visitor to ReMida, the installations serve as tangible examples of
that approach and provided us an opportunity to express our own creativity (I made a little origami boat as my contribution).

After visiting ReMida, we had some free time to walk through the open-air market for some shopping. One of my classmates purchased a carry-on for 20 Euros, but had no exchange or return policy (an inside joke). We boarded the bus and went to the train station for our next
stop in Torino.

THE PASSION OF THE PEOPLE
What I have learned from my visit to Reggio Emilia is how passionate people are about what they do, from the cheese factory to the Balsamic vinegar production, and to the Reggio Emilia approach and ReMida recycling plant. I realized that these businesses exist to satisfy the needs
of the people of the city, and not to create a big business that just supplies products to consumers. These businesses are oriented toward the benefit of the community as opposed to creating profit.

Through these presentations, we experienced the commitment, passion, and focus these professionals have for the improvement of their community. I also noticed through these lectures how the improvement of the community brings everyone together. They are willing to do whatever it takes to educate others on how to be sustainable and help the planet Earth and in turn themselves. The director of USAC in Reggio Emilia, lovely Simona, reminded me of the time I worked in the hospitality industry. Professor Pellegrini’s commitment to the food and health sustainability movement became palpable through his lecture. Umberto and his family tradition of making balsamic vinegar, transported us to a couple of centuries ago when his family began producing the vinegar. Professor Chiara Borelli, with her presentation about Reggio Emilia's approach, sustainability, and creativity, showed how committed she is to her profession and the continuity of the education approach.

THE NEXT STOP
The next story from Italy will come from one of my classmates, Ashley Roderick. I hope you enjoyed this story. I very much enjoyed this part of the trip and most of all the commitment and passion each of these companies have for what they do and for sustainability.

UNLV’s MBA program is a hybrid, part-time program that gives students the flexibility to earn their Master of Business Administration while still working full-time. Our program is consistently ranked in the top 100 by U.S. News and World Report, is taught by our accomplished faculty, and class sizes are small to encourage engagement between faculty and students.