Funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Job Mobility program, the visit brought Vittoria Zingaro and Adriana Gallo to campus to observe English for Business instruction and explore pedagogical approaches that bridge language learning with professional competencies. The partnership continues to evolve, with Prof. Enza Antenos, Director of the Language, Business & Culture BA program and the Department of World Languages and Literatures, scheduled to travel to the Dell’Acqua campus during Spring 2026 to consult on their English business program—also funded under the Erasmus+ grant.

Zingaro and Gallo participated in a comprehensive observation program spanning multiple business disciplines. Their week included courses addressing marketing creativity and strategy, business ethics and corporate social responsibility, international business operations, intercultural communication in professional contexts, and the capstone course that activates language competencies with business acumen in tangible ways.

“It was a pleasure to have Vittoria and Adriana visit my creative marketing class,” shared marketing professor Manveer Mann. “It’s inspiring to connect with educators from around the world who are passionate about effective instruction. I appreciated their engagement and interest in my pedagogical approach and the opportunity to discuss it with them and learn about the Italian cultural perspectives. I look forward to future opportunities for collaboration.”

The program extended beyond academic observation to include strategic professional engagements. Highlights included a faculty and administration luncheon that fostered cross-institutional dialogue, a meeting with Education Director Daniele Castellani at the Italian Consulate in New York to explore broader collaboration opportunities, and a corporate visit to Bindi North America Inc. in Kearny, New Jersey. At Bindi, the educators gained insights into Italian business operations in the American market, with the visit facilitated by Francesca Oliveri, a communications specialist at Bindi and an Italian alumna, further reinforcing the international connections that make such partnerships meaningful.

The Erasmus+ program is the European Union’s flagship initiative supporting education and training across Europe and beyond, facilitating professional development opportunities for educators and promoting cross-cultural understanding.

“The Erasmus+ program exemplifies the kind of meaningful international partnerships that enrich both our faculty and students,” noted Antenos. “By sharing pedagogical practices and building networks across the Atlantic, we’re preparing students for the truly global nature of contemporary business.”
The collaboration represents the growing internationalization of Montclair’s Language, Business & Culture program and its commitment to fostering educational exchanges that benefit students, faculty, and institutions locally and abroad.

Dr. Antenos has been the Secretary/Treasurer of the AATI for the past eight years. She was first elected in 2014 and then reelected in 2017. In her time, she has presided over at least 15 conferences and helped maintain the finances of the AATI.

“My tenure with the AATI, working alongside its distinguished officers, invigorated my deep commitment to the profession, both here at Montclair State and nationally. My interactions with its members, from the Americas to Europe to Australia, have provided me with significant opportunities for growth and development, advancing the impact Italy had and continues to have in the world. It provided me with a platform through which to connect our university with teachers and programs nationwide, through the MSU signature program Teaching Italian (now in its 16th year), and to enrich opportunities for student study abroad and scholarships. What’s more, is that it wasn’t just about Italian. Through its collaboration with professional associations in Spanish and Portuguese, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese (to name only a few), I have also had the privilege to lobby on Capitol Hill to tell Senators and Congresspeople the story of language education and access for all,” Dr. Antenos said.

By Donaelle Benoit

For Carmela and many graduates like her, Montclair State has always been and continues to be an important point of reference for Italian teacher training (via the and an M.A.T., new for 2023) and professional development at the annual Teaching Italian Symposium, the new Language, Business and Culture BA/MBA program, innovation in curriculum (courses in Fairytales, Italian for Spanish Speakers, Translation for Tourism & Cultural Promotion and more), exciting student research, scholarship and internship opportunities and cultural programming open to students and the community through the Inserra Chair and the Coccia Institute.

The students from Scotch Plains – Fanwood High School met Drs. Antenos and Trubiano for a short introduction to the Italian Program, took a guided tour of the campus by a Montclair State student ambassador, and then joined Dr. Antenos’ Italian Conversation class focusing on the Mediterranean diet and sustainability issues.

During the introductory presentation, Dr. Antenos reminded the students that with 65 Italian companies in New Jersey, the garden state is an “Italy outside Italy,” also thanks to the 18% of New Jerseyans who trace their linguistic and cultural heritage back to Italy. Students can benefit from the training they receive in the LBC and Italian majors, get an internship and/or study abroad and then work for an Italian company, in a seamless transition from school to work. Montclair State Italian graduates are well equipped to translate Italian commercial and cultural innovations for a plurilingual customer base; indeed, the intercultural communicative competence that they learn and practice is a distinguishing feature of all Montclair State offerings in world languages and is closely aligned with recommendations – highlighting communication skills – for professional success by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The high school students mingled with and worked collaboratively with Italian students in Dr. Antenos’ Italian Conversation (ITAL 309) class. “Scotch Plains students crashed my class without trepidation, connecting with Italian majors and minors who are testaments of what they too can achieve with continued study of language and culture,” declared Dr. Antenos. “Participating in an interactive university lesson deepened their understanding of complex iconic cultural symbols like food, and opened up important conversations about nutrition, the environment, and racism.” Indeed, the Language, Business and Culture and Italian majors prepare students to converse and work in languages other than English since it is crucial to be able to translate and localize concepts, designs and products, and also to be able to meet users and practitioners in the languages in which they live, create and work.

Looking back on their visit to Montclair State, Scotch Plains – Fanwood Italian teacher Mrs. Lambert said: “I have taken many trips with students in the past 20 years, this has been the most rewarding for me as an educator. The students were truly grateful to see a glimpse of what to expect in a college level class next year. Most importantly they were in awe of the possibilities of using their Italian studies in the future.”

Another way for high school students to get a taste of the MSU Experience is through the accelerated Italian summer course, now in its 5^th year.

Program Benefits

• High-achieving Montclair State students are able to complete a Bachelor’s and MBA degree in five years
• Students from a variety of undergraduate disciplines gain valuable business and professional knowledge, skills and experiences that enhance their employability and career options post graduation.
• Students are able to take advantage of a more time- and cost-effective option for getting an MBA degree by taking “swing” graduate courses that satisfy both their undergraduate and graduate degrees at the undergraduate tuition rate.

The following CHSS undergraduate programs are approved for participation in the 4 +1 program:

• BA Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
• (with concentrations in Arabic, French, German, and Italian). NOTE: the combined BA/MBA program option is not applicable to the BA in Language Business and Culture with a concentration in Spanish.
• BA Philosophy

Interested in Pursuing the 4+1 Bachelor’s / MBA Program? Follow these simple steps:

Contact Us

April Sime
MBA Office
973-655-4306
gradbusiness@montclair.edu

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 readyĚý 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 ĚÇĐÄvlog 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 ProgramĚýwas 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.”

The University Membership provides unlimited resources to the university community to access ANA’s proprietary multimedia content and case studies used to supplement curricula; attend industry events to enhance real-time classroom learning and networking opportunities; to enhance their knowledge about current marketing landscape (through open-enrollment training workshops or on-demand courses); and unlimited access to ANA’s comprehensive certification program. The certification process is also available to limited number of students on a yearly basis.

Heart & Science’s gift of the ANA membership to Montclair State “will unlock tremendous value to both professors and students to incorporate the current reality of marketing and advertising into academia!”

They’re students like Janica Pierre, a junior who speaks French, enjoys culture and is studying accounting. Beginning this fall, she has added a second major, the new BA in Language, Business and Culture. “I’ll see where this leads me,” she says, “maybe in five years, living and translating documents in France.”

Language, Business and Culture combines intensive language and culture study (a choice of Arabic, French, German, Italian or Spanish) with fundamental business skills to prepare students for careers here and abroad.

“This degree prepares a future generation of managers for a new Renaissance where language, sense of belonging and social support will lead the business,” says Alberto Milani, president of the Italy America Chamber of Commerce, who attended a launch of the program last spring.

Gladys Riccardi, Janica Pierre and Adriana Morsella, among the first students in the new BA in Language, Business and Culture, meet with the program’s director, Enza Antenos.

Gladys Riccardi, who speaks Spanish, and Adriana Morsella, who studies Italian, are among the students in the first cohort, both drawn to the program after exploring options in business and world language last year as University College pre-major/undecided students. “This is a good combination of everything I’m seeking,” Morsella says.

Montclair State is one of just two public universities in the Northeast offering the program, and the only one in New Jersey. It formalizes into a degree program the ways Montclair State has blended business practices with socio-cultural knowledge and strong language skills, says Enza Antenos, professor of Italian with Modern Languages and Literatures, and program director of Language, Business and Culture.

“In class, the use of real-life examples, the amazing opportunity to learn about international business abroad, and the emphasis on acceptance, immersion and learning drove home the essence of global marketing,” says Talia Antonacci ’19, who graduated with a major in Italian and minor in Business.

Sights Set High

Recent Montclair State graduates like Antonacci who speak a second language and also understand cultural differences and diversity have landed dream jobs, Antenos says.

Bobby Nelson ’15 credits his degrees in Business Administration and a world language for helping him launch his career. Nelson studied German and works with the online mattress startup Casper, where his fluency and business skills assisted in the company’s expansion.

“It’s not just how to translate words,” Nelson says. “Language is a whole different way to see life; it’s a whole different way to live.”Ěý

Natalie Yavorski ’19 draws on her BFA in Fine Arts/Studio and a minor in Italian while working in product creation for Safilo, an Italian eyewear creator and distributor in Secaucus. “When you learn how to speak a different language, you’re also learning about the culture of that language because they go hand in hand,” she says.

During a recent visit to her workplace, Yavorski was sorting eye frames by color and design in the acetate library she created for the company. “I’m not entirely sure if I imagined that my minor would lead to a career path,” she says. “I definitely hoped that I would be able to keep Italian a big part of my life because I’m so passionate about it.”

International Experience

Language, Business and Culture combines international business skills in accounting, economics, finance, technology and cross-cultural business communications with intensive language and culture study.

It will unify a student’s preexisting knowledge of the products of a culture and their presence in the global marketplace, to the language and cultural background that is communicated by these products, bridging the preexisting tangible goods of a nation to the cultural know-how and excellence that creates them, Antenos says. International experience will provide students direct contact with the professional world before graduating.

The program has secured nearly $30,000 in scholarships, and a number of government agencies are prepared to work with the students through internship opportunities.

Those connections propelled Antonacci into a position as marketing coordinator for Choose New Jersey, an economic development organization.

“Thanks to my Italian culture and business courses, taken both at Montclair State and in Italy,” Antonacci says, “I’ve learned about the global market, its significance, and how to identify and utilize cultural differences to your advantage in order to market practically, and provide the consumer with the best product.”

As a student, Antonacci held internships supported by a $5,000 Lawrence R. Inserra Jr. Scholarship administered by the Inserra Chair, Teresa Fiore, and the ĚÇĐÄvlog Foundation. Opportunities included working with teams at the Italian Trade Agency, the commercial branch of the Italian Consulate in New York, as well as Choose New Jersey, which has an overseas component in Italy.

“The Inserra paid internship program in Italian Business rests on the generosity of the Italian program’s main donor, solid partnerships with Italian and New Jersey agencies, and an interdisciplinary vision that combines Italian and business as part of the internationalization of the student experience,” says Fiore.

“When I proposed the program to Mr. Inserra, my dream was to see an internship turn into a permanent job for our students, but I never thought it would happen only two years into the program,” Fiore says. “It is a pleasure for me to design, arrange and implement these internships for our students and I look forward to more successful stories like Talia’s.”