Last Monday I graduated again. It doesn't mean that the first time was not valid. Since last Monday I have become a Boston University Alumni. And I'm really proud of each and everyone of my classmates who chosen me as their representative for that evening. Thank you guys!

Thanks to BU I have met great people. I have made great friends. I wish that our friendship lasts forever. There is noway to improve this experience. Only if my fiancee would have been here.

Here is the speech that I addressed to the audience. Even though you cannot understand some details or jokes I hope you like. And remember, what I've learned and lived at BU with my fellows is much more than those lines.

And once again thank you guys! I'll keep you in mind!

BOSTON UNIVERSITY
2007 GRADUATION SPEECH

Dean Halfond, Faculty, Alumni, dear family and friends, fellow graduates, good evening!

I am proud to have this opportunity to address you on behalf of my peers in the International Marketing Program of fall 2007. I want first of all to thank you for having chosen me as your representative even if just for a few moments.

Rome, the capital of Italy is one of my favorite cities. I have been in that city on many occasions and I am always surprised by something new. One time walking by the Tiber river I read on a building a Latin inscription. It said, “Nihil Dificcile Volenti”: nothing is difficult for the one who is willing.

I am sure that if we could go back in time we never would have imagined that we were going to have this experience in our lives. For many of us coming here meant a big commitment not only financially but also personally. About four months ago we all left many things in our countries of origin; a job, a social life, customs and ways of doing things. But especially we left behind family members and friends. In those moments, the proverb “Nihil Dificcile Volenti” probably describes what was going through our minds. We resolved to come here and now we have reached the end. We have come to the point of saying goodbye.

Today, December 17th 2007, after four intense months of class we graduate. Today for all of us this dream of graduating from one of the most prestigious universities in the US has become a reality. At least this was a dream for me.

We graduate in a program with outstanding professors both academically and humanly speaking. I think it is a matter of justice that we thank them for their effort and interest in sharing with us their experience and their knowledge of marketing.

1. With Professor Nancy Lowd we learned the differences between going international and going global. We were made to understand the importance of doing primary and secondary research before launching a new product or service. And one interesting thing we learned was that Barbie, the doll from Mattel, looks different in different countries.
2. With Professor Roger Warburton we learned that a supply chain includes much more than just shipping goods from the factory to the store. There is a whole world behind a BU garment at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore. We got a good chance to understand the concept of sharing the pain thanks to his 3x5 index cards. And now, thanks to him we know that forecasting is always, always wrong.
3. After that class we thought that the next subject would be a piece of cake. But… our forecast was wrong. We were wrong because with Professor Paula Murphy we thought that we were attending an International Law class. But then we realized the importance of the Incoterms and the Harmonized Code if you want to ship raw bananas coming from Ecuador, passing by the United States and landing in Canada.
4. Then Professor Bob MacCullough came with a great number of challenging ideas from several case studies. He taught us the importance of being disruptive, both in our professional and personal lives. We learned not to be worried if we are crappy at the beginning because to improve is to change and to be perfect is to change often.
5. With Professor Chee we went totally nuts. The International Business Simulation at first was really hard and no fun. We read the manual almost 10 times and even after that we still did not have any idea of how it worked. All those new concepts; such as an overdraft or going brokering, were totally new for us. But once we got the hang of it, all we wanted to do was keep playing, and playing. And we kept hearing “nothing to borrow… nothing to ship!”
6. With Professor Jim Lengel we discovered a new perspective on a world that is not new anymore: the Internet. We already knew a lot about it but only from the customer’s perspective. Now we have become expert website designers—or almost! Rollovers, mouse-ups, pop-ups, cookies, and flash animations are only some of the tools we have learned so that we can design a home page that is sticky.
7. And last but not least, Professor Ron Harding gave us a wise and clear differentiation among Advertising, Promotion and Public Relations. His wide knowledge and experience will be really useful for our professional future.

Again, to all of you; many hanks.

A good friend of mine often says that life is like juggling three balls. One day you drop the ball of work but sooner or later it bounces back. There is usually someone who lends you a hand and you find a new job. Another day you drop the ball of health—an accident, an operation. But sooner or later that ball also bounces back and you recover it. But one day, the ball that falls, is that of family and that day you realize that ball is not like the other ones, that ball is made of glass.

Thanks to our classes and teamwork over these past four months we have broadened our knowledge of international marketing. We have acquired important professional tools, and on top of that we are young and we have energy. We will succeed in our professional future. I am sure that the next thirty years will be exciting for all of us. No doubt we will all have important roles to play in marketing. Let us remember the Latin proverb: “Nihil dificcile volenti”: Nothing is difficult for those who are willing. Let us remember also that professional success is not always meaningful if it comes at the cost of family and friends. It’s thanks to them that we are here right now.

Many thanks for sharing with me these past four months and let’s not forget to extend our thanks to the Boston University Alumni Association. Through them, we will keep alive our friendships and professional relationships. We were students these past days together and now we are BU Alumni forever.

Thank you very much and congratulations class of fall 2007!

I like going window shopping. It's even better than going real shopping because, since you didn't plan on buying anything, when you go back home with something cool, you can also enjoy the unexpected surprise. That's what an expert could name coolhunting if it's done with a professional reason. On the other hand, when you go shopping for something you need and you end up going home without finding it, and probably in a worse mood.

Last September, while going window shopping in Boston, I came across a very appealing store: Richart Chocolates . It wasn't appealing only because of the chocolate (you may know that I'm not a chocolate person), but also because of the packaging of its products.

As you can see in the pictures, there is a box which is closed with a piece of chocolate that includes a message: Thank You, Congratulations, or Greetings from Boston. Another interesting product is the chocolate covered nuts by Charles Chocolates, which come in a nice can. And I can tell you that those products not only have a cute packaging, but are delicious as well, and their price is premium.

We can't forget packaging when talking about marketing. When we go to a foreign country, just for a weekend or perhaps for a longer time, we are not familiar with all the brands. So we may buy a product based on its appealing packaging. Since traveling abroad is becoming more and more popular, having attractive packaging can be a good marketing weapon.

Some other good examples by "BVD; Design that moves you":