Title: Bloomingdale’s, BMW, Sotheby’s: Inside Hoyas’ Summer Internships With Major Brands

This summer, Hoyas all over the world are putting their skills to work as they explore issues like animal conservation, get a firsthand taste of diplomacy in foreign outposts and conduct research.

For some Hoyas, this summer involves interning with major corporate brands as they prepare for careers after Georgetown.

From BMW to Bloomingdale’s and Sotheby’s, meet a few Hoyas learning from some of the world’s biggest brands.

Diving Into E-Commerce Marketing With Bloomingdale’s

Visiting department stores was a regular pastime in Joséphine Bonnot’s (B’27) childhood. Bonnot and her mom would often make a pit stop in Paris en route from Belgium after visiting her French family. They would visit iconic Parisian department stores like Le Bon Marché and Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann to keep cool in summertime visits.

“We would take refuge in these department stores that are at once a consumer’s paradise but also a testament to this culture in France, which we call l’art de vivre, which means the art of living,” she said. “In France, a lot of people appreciate details and including beauty in the smallest of things. When we would go to department stores in Paris, we would be baffled because even the buildings themselves are like works of art.”

Bonnot, a marketing and management major in the McDonough School of Business, took that perspective with her when she interned at Bloomingdale’s in New York and fell in love with the company’s brand.

“I loved the cultural presence of the company in New York City and how long they’ve been around. The company’s story and the soul seemed to be quite fitting for me,” said Bonnot, who also interned this summer with the NRF Business of Retail Initiative in Georgetown McDonough. “Bloomingdale’s is almost like a tourist destination because of how iconic it is, which reminded me of how the department stores are in Paris.”

As a digital intern at Bloomingdale’s’ New York headquarters, Bonnot took a crash course in e-commerce and online marketing and merchandising. Her team ensured Bloomingdale’s website was continually updated with the latest merchandise.

Bonnot worked with footwear products and companies that sold their products on Bloomingdale’s website, including brands like Valentino, Birkenstock and Burberry. She helped conform product listings and photography on the website to fit the company’s standards.

Her internship also included classroom sessions to learn about the fashion industry and visits to brand showrooms and entrepreneurs who sold their products at Bloomingdale’s.

She also presented weekly projects to company executives, including a marketing campaign themed around old Hollywood and the Roaring Twenties.

“They wanted us to dream big, be super bold, have fresh ideas, and put them in the context of Bloomingdale’s and why it works and makes sense,” she said. “We were able to be super creative and have no boundaries.”

Bonnot said her group project-based coursework and marketing classes at Georgetown prepared her for success.

“That collaborative nature that is so important at Bloomingdale’s was incredibly present throughout all of my MSB classes,” she said. “I got to interact with MSB students I otherwise wouldn’t have met through my major. Getting to balance different perspectives and different interests and coordinate to achieve synergy ultimately played to my strengths at Bloomingdale’s.”

A German’s Dream to Work With BMW

As a German-Italian national, Luca Vozzi (G’27) chose Georgetown with the goal of interning with BMW.

After several years in German politics — including a stint working under German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — Vozzi wanted to pursue graduate school for a career in government affairs. 

The School of Foreign Service not only caught his eye for its world-class education and Washington, DC, location, but also for its European studies program that sits in Georgetown’s BMW Center for German and European Studies, which is funded in part by the German automaker and maintains a close and ongoing partnership with the German government.

As a student, Vozzi carefully chose his courses to demonstrate his interest in BMW. In his Global Government Relations class, he completed a project detailing BMW’s cross-border disputes and how it navigates an evolving global trade landscape.

“It was my dream internship because it’s a very German company and industry,” he said. “BMW is well-known. It operates in so many markets, and I always wanted to learn more about how German and European carmakers handle the current challenges and competition the industry is facing.”

This summer, Vozzi fulfilled his dream by interning with the government affairs team at the BMW Group in DC.

In his role, Vozzi tracks legislation moving through Congress that could affect BMW’s automotive brands and meets with officials from the U.S. State Department, Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy and many embassies. Vozzi also works with various trade associations lobbying on behalf of the German carmaker.

On his first day, Vozzi helped host a charity golf tournament for congressional staffers. He would often visit Capitol Hill to meet with staffers and  representatives from South Carolina, where BMW operates a large manufacturing plant. 

“It’s basically networking and talking to all these people, trying to understand what’s important to them and bringing it together with what’s important to us and seeing if we can find common ground,” he said.

Vozzi also communicates regularly with his colleagues at BMW’s headquarters in Munich and briefs company executives when they meet with U.S. government officials in DC.

Over the last few months, Vozzi has learned how to be quick on his feet and navigate relationships with government officials, company executives and other stakeholders while becoming well-versed in issues ranging from global EV competition with China to environmental standards. 

“It’s very rewarding,” he said. “I have a great team. I’ve learned so many things. I expanded my network, and it’s helping me already because they’re introducing me to all these people for a job next year, so it’s helpful to have them as my colleagues.”

Exploring the World of Luxury Business With Sotheby’s

A few months after Donnelly Rodgers (C’28) started at Georgetown, he saw an event that caught his eye. The student-run club, Georgetown Retail & Luxury Association (GRLA), was hosting a senior leader from Bulgari, the Italian luxury goods company. 

From that point on, he knew he wanted to join the club and work in luxury goods.

“That got the ball rolling for me in terms of researching what more I could do,” said Rodgers, an art history major in the College of Arts & Sciences. “Who else can I talk to to learn about what else goes on in this industry? How can what I’m interested in fit in terms of paying the bills but still being something I’m passionate about?”

This summer is getting him one step closer to his goal as he participated in Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s Summer Program in London. The program is an intensive four-week training in the luxury business and art curation industry that includes a mix of classwork, guest speakers and firsthand experiences with luxury in the global city.

“We’re not just studying luxury from a Sotheby’s classroom — we’re stepping directly into the spaces and experiences that define the industry, which gives you a completely different level of understanding than any textbook could,” he said.

In the last few weeks, Rodgers has visited the five-star Chancery Rosewood hotel, toured a vineyard in southern England and met with the owner and designer of a bespoke men’s tailoring store. Rodgers has also visited museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum and Sotheby’s headquarters to learn about the auction industry.

For his group project, Rodgers selected Aston Martin to create a new product line based on the company’s brand strategy and where they’re expected to go in the future.

“The project pushes us to really understand the luxury landscape. We ask ourselves what already exists in the market, where the gaps are and, most importantly, who the brand’s client actually is and what fits into their life,” he said.

Rodgers said Georgetown’s global education prepared him to interact with people from all corners of the world. He also said having art history professors who urged Rodgers and his classmates to explore DC and its many museums has prepared him for his summer exploring London.

“Georgetown has been great in turning me into a perfectly content solo traveler. Why wait for someone to go with you when you could just get up and go?” he said. “Being involved in Georgetown clubs like GRLA and Georgetown Marketing Association gave me a real feel for the professional space and got me making connections across industries early.”