2022 Inserra Paid Internship at Choose New Jersey Assigned to Adriana Morsella

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 2018 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 Italian Program’s set of initiatives at Montclair State University (World Languages and Cultures Department).

Redesigned to suit the limitations imposed by the pandemic, the internship will focus on Italian business in New Jersey only this year, a nonetheless fruitful and enriching experience for Adriana Morsella who plans on working in this area in the future: she will have the opportunity to be immersed in the dynamic ecosystem of NJ business ….with an Italian accent.

“I am thrilled 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. I feel that the knowledge I gained from previous courses and part-time jobs in several sectors have provided me with skills that I will further hone at CNJ. Grazie to the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies for making this opportunity possible, as well as all those who have supported me in the process.”

In the course of the Spring semester, the intern will assist in project management re: international trade, marketing and consulting (providing information and services to Italian companies approaching the U.S. market, with special focus on those interested to the Tristate area) and in the creation of studies and reports based on available data.

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 together with Adriana as she puts her 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.”