Life Lessons from Golf: Alumnus Guglielmo Della Porta
Born and raised in Rome, Italy, Guglielmo Della Porta graduated from JCU in 2021 with a B.A. in Marketing and a minor in Business Administration. He is currently doing an internship for Triumph Group International in the accreditation department for the Italy Pavilion at the 2020 Dubai Expo. Guglielmo and his golf team recently won the “Campionati Nazionali Assoluti a Squadre” championship.
Congratulations to you and your golf team for winning the Campionati Nazionali Assoluti a Squadre! How did you become interested in golf?
I started playing when I was eight but got serious at 13 or 14. I’ve always liked the sport as it allows you to become completely detached from your daily worries because its difficulty leads you to concentrate fully on the game when playing.
Guglielmo Della Porta (first from left) and his golf team.
How did you manage to reconcile playing professional golf with your university studies? What skills has playing golf helped you develop?
I managed to play full-time tournament seasons throughout all my high school years. When I started college, there were fewer tournaments to play since I focused only on the most important ones. Furthermore, JCU’s flexible academic schedule and choice of courses allow students to manage their time outside of classes.
My commitment to this very formal sport has helped me develop soft skills like stress management, dedication skills, and respect for etiquette.
What made you decide to study at JCU?
I have attended international schools in Rome since I was five. I chose to study at JCU because I wanted to remain in the city and pursue an American education in an international environment.
What courses and/or professors had the greatest impact on you?
One of my favorite courses was Professor Michele Favorite‘s Business Communications, which I feel really polished my professional communication skills and helped me put together a proper CV. I also really enjoyed Professor Thomas Aichner’s E-Marketing course, which despite being taught from remote during the pandemic lockdown, managed to provide us with interesting information regarding the latest trends through a highly engaging teaching style. I also want to mention Professor Alessandro Signorini, my advisor, who always supported me during my time at JCU and helped me follow a very interesting educational path.
Tell us about your work at Triumph Group International.
Currently, I am working as an intern in the accreditation department for the Italy Pavilion at the 2020 Dubai Expo. I am based in a Rome office that is paired with a sister office in Dubai, and the accreditation staff consists only of me and my colleague in Dubai. We deal with accreditation requests for both the media and special guests, including government ministers and company CEOs. My job is to help them solve any problems that they encounter with the accreditation process. In the future, I might be assigned a different role and move to Dubai..
What are your future plans?
Right now I am fully immersed in the world of large events and I am really enjoying it. I hope to combine my studies with my work experience and eventually work in the marketing department of a large event organization company somewhere in Europe.
