Internships

With each of my internships, I have felt extremely fortunate to have had the opportunities and experiences that I have had. From my summer with Benelli USA as a sales and marketing intern to my spring semester with JBM & Associates as a marketing and social media intern, each opportunity has provided me with completely unique experiences. From working on three year strategic plans to managing online assets, these positions were internships in name only. My internship in Italy was no exception. For one month, I got the chance to travel throughout Italy visiting exquisite hunting reserves and meeting incredible people. As the first-ever American intern with Montefeltro Sport, an Italian hunting tourism company, I gained invaluable insight into the international market. Housed in the headquarters of Benelli Italia, the storied shotgun manufacturer, I worked alongside an incredible team to transform and evolve our product offerings. Ultimately, my time with Montefeltro Sport became so much more than an opportunity to intern abroad. It was a chance to hone my language skills, test my marketing knowledge and help an international business improve their experience. 

 

The goal of my position with Montefeltro was to improve and modify our current hunting trips to better cater towards the American market. However, to better understand my role, it’s important to understand everything Montefeltro does as a hunting tourism business. In short, Montefeltro Sport operates as an all-in-one organizer of hunting trips all across their reserves in Europe as well as parts of Africa. Transportation, lodging, activities and hunting are just a few of the countless different facets of each customer's trip that Montefeltro coordinates. The objective is to make the customers journey as seamless and painless as possible by taking the stress out of their hands. With that being said, I arrived in Urbino, Italy for the start of my internship slightly nervous. Not only had I never been abroad before, but I had yet to meet a single person within the company. However, I was still eager and ready nonetheless. 

 

By the end of the trip, I felt that I had a complete grasp of the inner-workings of the company as well as the “Montefeltro experience.” With four different trips to four different reserves scattered across Italy, I was able to get a real sense of the customer experience. During these trips, I would meet the professional hunters who led our consumers on their hunts as well as the staff who helped maintain the grounds. In fact, on a trip to Rivergaro, a hunting estate in the province of Piacenza, we hosted a group of two Americans for four days. From the local town tours to the early-morning hunts, the eye-opening experience provided me with a wealth of information regarding the customer experience and product delivery. With each passing day, I became more comfortable with my Italian and grew in confidence. 

 

Besides the trips to the different reserves, I also spent a fair portion of my time at the headquarters of Benelli where I pieced together my thoughts and ideas regarding my experience at the hunting estates. However, as the only American and native-english speaker present at the headquarters, I often found my name being called upon for other projects as well. From modifying newsletter pieces to giving input regarding hunting trends in the US, each meeting presented a unique opportunity to make new connections and examine the different facets of the company. 

 

The month-long experience ultimately passed by in the blink of an eye, but my time with Montefeltro has proved priceless. From the daily conversations with my coworkers to the long days inspecting the reserves to the business luncheons, I learned more in a month than I ever thought possible, and I feel more ready than ever to take on a role in the international market.