Student portrait: Preziosa Costanzo – Online in slippers

2020-07-15 The Canadian-Italian is studying the English language course "International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship" (IBAE) at Leuphana College.

Preziosa Costanzo last saw her family at Christmas. Because of the Corona crisis she has not been able to travel back to Italy until now. "But my parents and siblings are doing fine. My family lives in Calabria, in the south, so far the virus is not very widespread there," says the 20-year-old.
The young has always been eager to travel the world. She was born in Canada from an Italian-Canadian family, was raised in Italy and and came to Germany two years ago to study. "Before that, I went to Eutin twice as a schoolgirl and took part in the meetings of the European Youth Parliament there," recalls Preziosa Costanzo. In the political organisation, young people from different countries meet to simulate the EU Parliament and thus improve their debating skills. The student liked Northern Germany right away. She found out about Leuphana through the website of the German Academic Exchange Service. "I was attracted by the study model. Major and Minor are also available in the USA. This means that studying at Leuphana gives you very good international connections."

Preziosa Costanzo is already in her fourth semester of the Bachelor programm "International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship" studies. When she came to Lüneburg two years ago, the International Office was a very important contact point for her: "The employees support us a lot, answer questions and name contact points", says the student.
Learning German in Lüneburg great plus point for Preziosa Costanzo’s University choice, given that she has since high school a great passion for languages and cultures. The student, who now speaks very good German, remarks: "In Lower Saxony, people don't speak with a strong dialect. Therefore, it was easier to learn German here”.

This semester, as in the other courses, the teaching took place online: "Leuphana has done a very good job. It went smoothly" In Italy, too, it was only possible to study in the home office: "The corona eruption was very strong there, so there were delays", the student reports. Nevertheless, a friend was able to discuss her bachelor thesis - "online and in slippers", as Preziosa Costanzo reports. After her own graduation in probably one year, the student would like to either complete a master's program, receive practical training in marketing and human resources or found a consulting firm, to identify and solve problems in companies. "In the minor I study 'Psychology and Society'. This gives me a broad base for this professional field."
The professional perspectives in the IBAE course of studies range from core competencies in management and entrepreneurship to sustainability and ethics: "This makes me feel well prepared to implement my plans. The complementary studies are also helpful in putting the specialist subject matter into a broader framework," says the student. If possible, she would like to help strengthen the economy in her home country again: "The situation is fragile because Italy is very dependent on tourism. I would like to give my beautiful country a hand". Preziosa Costanzo herself hopes to visit her family again at the end of July: "If the situation remains stable until then."

Preziosa Costanzo from Italy studies International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship at Leuphana College. ©Leuphana/Gregor Japp
Preziosa Costanzo from Italy studies International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship at Leuphana College.

Further Information

-Studying at Leuphana
-International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship
-College degree model
-Complementary studies

Ask an IBAE student: Would you like to know how it is studying at Leuphana College and what life is like in Lüneburg? Then make an appointment for a video interview with a student. Send an e-mail to botschafter@leuphana.de. Please include Major IBAE in the subject line of your e-mail.