Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Arivaderchi, Miami

Marco Formentini

Hello everyone! I am stealing some lines of The Miami Student to tell you my wonderful experience here in Oxford and to thank everybody who helped me and gave me the opportunity to spend three amazing months at Miami University — memories I will always keep in my heart.

My name is Marco Formentini and I am from Italy. My adventure started July 5, when I arrived in Oxford as an international visiting scholar to interact with Professor Lisa M. Ellram on my Ph.D. research topic. From the very beginning, I appreciated the support of the whole faculty at the Farmer School of Business. Not only did the professors help me in my research by proposing useful insights and devoting their time to dedicated meetings, but they also made me feel at home by involving me in social activities and giving me the opportunity to know and experience the American lifestyle.

Moreover, the City of Oxford has been a great surprise for me. I found it an inspiring and dynamic place to study. In particular, I was surprised by the openness of the people who are always ready to help. Interestingly, coming here in July, I experienced both sides of Oxford: the quiet one in the summer and the crowded one after the "move-in" of the students. I admit that the first weekend with all the parties was quite surprising!

After three months, unfortunately, it is already time to leave. However, I will always remember this experience, which helped me to develop my ideas for my research and also grow as a person in a new country.

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank Professor Lisa M. Ellram for supporting me continuously in my research. She helped me to focus on my topic and gave me the opportunity to perform the first exploratory interviews for my Ph.D. dissertation. Second, I am completely grateful to Professor Jim Stearns, who dedicated his precious time to helping me settle here and feel at home. I would like to thank the entire faculty at the Farmer School of Business, in particular Professors David Rosenthal, Devon DelVecchio and Bryan Ashenbaum for their advice, and Profesor Tom Speh for being a precious gatekeeper to develop the first interviews. Thanks also to the dean of the School of Business, Professor Roger Jenkins, for giving me the opportunity to visit Miami University. I also appreciate the support of Nancy Mixell and Molly Heidemann in organizing my trip.

There are also other guys I want to thank, in particular, Obie, Andrew, Ryan, Catherine and her roomies, Joseph, Joe, Lara, Geng, Lak and, of course, all the other nice people and students I met here. I hope to keep in touch with you and I also hope to see you in Italy! Goodbye, Miami University … hope to see you again!