UNLV MBA students travel to Italy to broaden their understanding of international business and sustainability practices

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Zoe Brill is currently pursuing her MBA at UNLV with an emphasis in marketing. 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 Zoe and a few of her classmates share their experiences as part of a student travel series.

Ciao a tutti!! My name is Zoe Brill and I am currently in Bologna, Italy on the MBA international trip! The Master of Business Administration program here at UNLV allows students to gain knowledge for the ever-changing quick paced business world! We take classes variety of business classes in economics, accounting, and marketing that broaden our view of business. I am in the marketing concentration which allows me to take more niche classes in marketing to help me in my career after I graduate.
 
This summer the MBA program is taking its first international trip post-pandemic to Italy. We will be visiting various facilities across three cities where we will expand our understanding of sustainable business practices. This trip allows us to learn unique and innovative ways to help our planet while also being a profitable business. 

PREPARING TO TRAVEL ABROAD
We had two class meetings before we left to better equip us for the trip. Our first guest speaker taught us about U.S. Commercial Services which works to bring international businesses and brands to the United States. Then, we learned all about fast fashion and sustainability in the clothing industry, and how to reduce our own carbon footprint. We then watched numerous presentations from our fellow classmates on topics such as Italian culture, the economy, and politics.

There are 14 MBA students ranging in concentrations from accounting to marketing on this trip. This is my first chance to study abroad so I am very thankful for the opportunity that UNLV and the MBA program have given me. Academically, I hope to learn sustainability practices other companies use that can also be implemented in Las Vegas. I am an aspiring business leader and I would love to help Las Vegas become a hub for sustainability. Personally, I hope to find ways to immerse myself in Italian culture. I hope to talk to locals, eat the cuisine, and walk around to see the art all around Italy. Also, I am so excited about all the pasta and gelato that I am so ready to eat!

LOOKING AHEAD
We will be visiting three cities while in Italy – starting with Reggio Emilia, then Torino, and finishing our tour in Verona. In order to get to Italy we flew from Las Vegas to Toronto which was around a four-hour flight and then flew from Toronto to Rome which was around eight-and-a-half hours. After spending some time in Rome, we took a train from Rome to Reggio Emilia which took around two hours. This was the longest flight I have ever been on for sure. Luckily, I slept through most of the eight-hour flight! 

The airport experience wasn’t too different from what I’m used to but I noticed the vending machines which had many different items compared to ones in America. Also, once you leave the airport the pickup area for the various car services were very busy, unlike anything I have ever seen in America. There were so many people with signs for people and it was very small.

I am looking forward to our trip to the cheese factory because come on it's cheese! I am a big cheese lover so visiting the factory will be so much fun! I am also excited to visit Verona as it has a lot of history tied to Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet. Our trip is around eight days long, but some friends and I in the program extended our trip at the beginning so we could visit Rome beforehand! 

UP NEXT
The next story from Italy will be coming from one of my classmates, Rita Mariana Linares Alvarado! Can’t wait to see what else is in store for us! Ciao!

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.