Adriana Morsella Recipient of 2022 Inserra Paid Intern at Choose New Jersey

Adriana Morsella, major in Language, Business and Culture in Italian and minor in Business with a Certificate in Marketing, was selected for the 2022 Inserra Paid Internship at Choose New Jersey. The internship has been available to students of Italian at Montclair State University since 2017 in the form of a $5,000 tuition reduction, as part of a Paid Internship Program supported by the generous donation of Mr. Inserra and his family, and offered within the Inserra Chair’s and Italian Program’s set of initiatives at Montclair State University (World Languages and Cultures Department).

Redesigned to suit the travel limitations imposed by the pandemic, the internship was based in New Jersey throughout the duration of the internship (February through May) with a mixed schedule of in-person and remote work to reflect the formats of office working in the current job environment. Adriana had the opportunity to be immersed in the dynamic ecosystem of NJ business ….with an Italian accent. Among other products, she concentrated on the expansion of a small balsamic vinegar company, De Nigris. Working with the Business Development and Marketing teams, she also focused on trade missions of specific countries: relying on software tools such as JobsEQ or Dun & Bradstreet, she gathered relevant commercial data and analytics for formal presentations.

“I am truly grateful to the Inserra Chair and the Italian Program to have been selected as the 2022 Intern at Choose New Jersey” Adriana stated. “I heard about Choose New Jersey in my Capstone Language, Business and Culture course last semester with Dr. Antenos (Director of the LBC program), and was captivated by their involvement with international companies and the Tristate area. The internship allowed me to further hone the knowledge I had gained from previous business and culture courses, including Dr. Trubiano’s Living in Translation course. I am thankful to CNJ for offering great learning opportunities that actively connect marketing and language. And I am now ready  to take up a full-time job at Ferrero USA! Grazie to all those who have supported me along the way.”

” Adriana was a joy to have on our team. She came in everyday eager to tackle new projects,” Rena Sherman (Research Manager at Choose New Jersey) stated. “As part of her responsibilities, Adriana worked with our international offices as well, to help them provide support to international companies looking to move to New Jersey. A significant project that she worked on was researching and writing a briefing book for a business development trip to Europe.”

As Jen Lenhardt (Chief Administrative Officer, Choose New Jersey) added: “Choose New Jersey is happy to continue the intern partnership with Montclair State University and the Inserra program. Global opportunities are a large part of Choose New Jersey’s marketing outreach and business development pipeline. We look forward to working with other students in the future so that they can put their work experience, language skills, business knowledge and cultural awareness into practice with our company.”

The Inserra Paid Internship Program was instituted as a concrete action towards the creation of a new academic field linking Business and Italian, which eventually grew into a program embracing several languages (Language, Business and Culture) and representing one of the most innovative approaches to studying languages for the industry as a part of a combined BA degree. See the history and developments of the broader initiative on Italian and Business.

“The internship program continues to activate a productive synergy between the university and the job market in our region that benefits our academic programs as well as the local companies, such as Choose New Jersey, which is an ideal partner in this mission,” Dr. Teresa Fiore (Inserra Endowed Chair) remarked. “Year after year, for both interns and companies, the role of languages and culture in international business shows its centrality, and this can only impact the regional economy in positive ways, while creating incentives for the study of languages on our campus and beyond. Additionally, students gain precious experience towards their next career steps, and often land a job right after the internship, as is the case for Adriana.”