Juliana Ciccozzi '16
Major:
Business Administration
Minors:
Economics, Italian
Outcome Opportunity:
I got a job!
Position:
Lead Teller
Company/Organization:
Wells Fargo
Briefly describe your role and how you first got connected to it.
"I got connected with my role through searching for positions online. While they usually require employees to remain in a position for at least one year before changing roles, I was promoted to lead teller three months early from the recommendation of my service manager, branch manager, and district manager. There is a large Italian population near my branch, and the customers love speaking to me in Italian and hearing about my travels."
How did your SJU education impact your professional goals?
"My position is all about customer service, and I'm able to create an immediate connection and sense of trust with the older Italian customers we have when I speak to them in Italian. This has made some customers choose me as their preferred teller, and our customer service scores reflect that. However, the outcome that had the largest impact on my life has been recently traveling to Italy with my dad to visit family. It's been about ten years since I had last traveled to Italy with him, even though we have both separately gone many times since then. I could see the pride in his smile every time I was able to have a conversation with my family without using him to interpret. He knew that I studied Italian at Saint Joseph's but this was his first time seeing the extent of what I had learned. That trip made me appreciate what I learned from the Italian program in a whole new way. I minored in Italian with the goal of being able to connect with my family in L'Aquila. I didn't expect all of the smaller connections, like getting tips from locals, that I would have missed out on in my travels if I didn't know the language."
Did you participate in any experiential learning activities while at SJU?
"I participated in the summer study tour program in Rome, Italy. That experience helped me learn how to be more independent in an unfamiliar setting, and that has translated into my work. A colleague told me that she admires how I never seem flustered, no matter how busy we become at the branch. At the beginning of my study abroad trip, I was too nervous to explore on my own, and I would become too anxious to enjoy myself if I was lost. By the end of the trip, I learned to take things in stride and that staying calm is the best way to deal with stress. I tell my tellers to 'focus on one customer at a time' and that has helped my team to handle our busy times more effectively."
Discuss the personal significance of your Italian minor.
"While I only minored in Italian, I think it defined my experience at Saint Joseph's. It was a constant class that I could rely on each semester, and the classes helped me to be more confident with my peers and with public speaking, both of which translate directly to my job."