My name is Carola Carlesi and I graduated from John Cabot University in Rome in December 2016 with a degree in International Affairs.
Having graduated from John Cabot is a great source of pride for me, not only for the high standards of education that the university offers, but also because I enrolled in an American university despite my initial lack of knowledge of the English language. This forced me to work hard to achieve my goals and realize my potential.
Thanks to John Cabot, and in particular to JCU's Career Services Center, my dreams have come true. Before I even finished my thesis, following a Career Fair event, I received an offer for an internship at Dagon Media, a marketing start-up operating in the emerging markets of sub-Saharan Africa. The experience at Dagon Media has been extremely constructive and enriching: it allowed me to work on the field in Ghana and Zambia and I was able to connect with and appreciate their wonderful culture and people.
Being catapulted into new and different working environments has sometimes been stressful, but I have always been able to count on the skills I acquired at John Cabot. These skills prepared me to face the world with an open and flexible mentality, and to work in highly competitive, stimulating, and dynamic environments. The practical structure of a startup like Dagon Media allowed me to work in more than one role, which helped me discover my strengths. In particular, while working as a Marketing Project Manager, I experienced how proper management plays an essential role in the success of a project.
After my experience with Dagon Media, I decided to pursue my passion for human resources. While following this new path, I have been able to count on the support of my professors and of the Career Services Center. Thanks to their help, in 2018 I started an internship at the American multinational corporation Kelly Services, one of the largest companies in the world in the human resources sector. Today I work as a recruiter at Kelly Services as I wait to begin my Master's degree in Human Resources and International Employment at the London School of Economics.
My suggestion for anyone who has to make a tough decision in their professional or university life? Always follow your dreams without being intimidated by the challenges ahead. Life is what you make of it!
Carola Carlesi
Class of 2016
Major in International Affairs
Hometown: Naples, Italy