New Co-Op Student at National Italian Newspaper
Randal Sartor, a rising senior at Northeastern University in Boston, has returned after his Spring 2013 semester at Umbra to complete a four-month Co-Op (Cooperative Education Opportunity) with La Nazione, a national Italian online and print newspaper. As part of the Co-Op program, Randal studied at the University for Foreigners this summer, brushing up on his Italian language skills in preparation for the Italian workplace. Now, Monday through Friday, he can be found at La Nazione’s local office in the heart of Perugia’s city center.
Randal already has a variety of exciting projects underway. He has begun translating articles from Italian into English, building their online article collection, to reach more international readers. Other projects include conducting interviews with locals and visitors about the happenings in and around Perugia and promoting the newspaper to communities of Umbrians abroad, including in the United States.
When asked why he chose a Co-Op at La Nazione and what he hopes to gain from the experience, Randal responded “This is my first work experience in a professional setting with deadlines and a real sense of responsibility to the city and the nation. I’m learning more and more about the newspaper’s relationship with the people and how best to communicate happenings to the public since we’re usually the first to hear about them.”
Students choose the Co-Op opportunity for a variety of reasons, some to explore career options, others to try out new skills. As a philosophy major, journalism and communications were fields he never studied but was always curious about. Less than a month in, Randal has already captured the essence of a true journalist in the making, “It’s about the creative process. This Co-Op has a lot of interaction with the people of Italy. I want to speak with as many [people] and listen to as many stories and perspectives as I can.”
For more information about Co-Op opportunities, check out the Umbra page: https://www.umbra.org/community-engagement-abroad/co-ops/