Luke O'Loughlin

Give us a brief introduction about yourself, the program you're attending at Monash and in Prato and how long you have been in Prato.

My name is Luke and I've been in Prato now for nearly two months. I'm here completing both my law degree and my Diploma of Languages in Italian Studies. So I've been completing three units at the Monash University, Prato campus and completing an internship at a local high school in Prato.

Tell us about the internship that you are doing: why did you choose to apply and what are the highlights of this experience?

I'm an assistant teacher in English language classes. And I help the teachers coordinate their classes, help students with their grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. And I also do presentations on certain aspects of Australian culture in history. So I've done a presentation on Indigenous history in Australia as well as some of the more fun aspects like wildlife and landscapes, which the students seem to enjoy. I chose to do this internship not because I'm necessarily interested in becoming a teacher - I'm more likely to pursue something in the legal profession. But it was just really important for me to have an internship in Italy so that I could improve my language skills and learn more about the culture and see if I could see myself working in Italy one day. As a lawyer or something else.

Can you tell us the highlights of your time in Prato so far?
One of the perhaps unexpected highlights has been how well I've gotten to know and got along with the other students that have been here. Because I was obviously expecting to enjoy being in Prato and to enjoy being in Italy and enjoy being able to travel around. But I don't think I expected to make really good friends with the other students that have been here so, the highlights have probably been meeting those people, going on trips together and building new friendships.

What have you learnt about yourself while in Prato?

I've learned that I don't need to be intimidated by the prospect of jumping into something completely unknown, especially in my internship. I don't have any training as a teacher and I've never worked in a high school before at all so, it was a completely foreign environment, but I learnt that even though I haven't done that specifically before, I've acquired lots of transferable skills of just communicating with other people and organisational skills and research skills that I've picked up through my studies. It can be applied to a wide range of professional settings so I don't need to box myself into anything.

What’s next for you? What do you hope to do with this experience?

I came into studying in Prato with a question mark hanging over whether I could see myself living and working in Italy one day, and I think my internship and my studies showed me that it's very much possible and something that I would love to do, so I'm hoping that one day after I've gained some practical experience back in Australia that I can come take my career in a direction that will allow me to work overseas and especially in Italy. It would be amazing.

Units studied in Prato: International Banking and Finance: Law and Practice, Human Rights Law: International and comparative perspectives and The Law of Climate Change; Internship (Assistant teacher of English) | Bachelor of Law and Diploma of Languages (Italian Studies)

Visit the Monash Abroad website for information on how to apply for the Monash Global Campus Intensives.