Intern Spotlight: FSF’s Scholars Tackle Merchandising, Supply Chain

Peter Arnold, previously of the CFDA — spearheads the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund, which helps region the likes of college students inclusive of Katelyn O’Neal, a style merchandising scholar at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Javier Uriegas, a fashion merchandising scholar from University of Texas at Austin — into the bold, inimitable but smaller-than-you-think style industry.
As early as September, companies are looking for access to YMA’s expertise pool, which incorporates greater than 60 faculties. Last yr there had been 740 candidates, and every January, the FSF hosts its anchor skills acquisition occasion in New York City.
“Companies are keen to meet the candidates and attend the activities to find interns,” Arnold informed WWD, on the significance of the expertise acquisition occasions. With the right fit, interns “should then come to be destiny complete-time employees,” he introduced.
The FSF hosts expertise-acquisition events to assist join keen young expertise with its roster of partnering groups inclusive of Bloomingdale’s, Centric Brands, Macy’s Inc., PVH Corp. And extra. For the first time, this October, the FSF will are seeking to enlarge its networking possibilities to the Los Angeles location catering to schools such as the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, whilst additionally attaining students from UCLA, USC and Otis College of Art and Design.

Every yr, an FSF group made of personnel individuals and ambassadors bridge the divide — meeting with educators to give the brand new case examine to students whilst explaining the scholarship utility process extensive. In comparable fashion to FSF’s commitment to the nourishment of skills, WWD will highlight of the FSF’s scholars in a sequence of on-line testimonies this summer season — starting here.
On the approaching collection, Arnold said, “It is a top-notch car for them to proportion their money owed of dwelling and working in NYC for the first time — compelling examples of what the FSF is all about — supplying our pupils with crucial work experience that assist form and tell their long time careers.”

Katelyn O’Neal is a 20-yr-antique buying intern at Bloomingdale’s as a part of the business enterprise’s merchant internship program. She attends Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., majoring in fashion merchandising, with a double minor in business and media studies.
O’Neal changed into interested in the potential to “merge the creativity of style and the analytics of sales and enterprise,” bringing up the fingers-on revel in at Bloomingdale’s as a way to “complement what I have discovered in college.”
“YMA helped me land this scholarship by way of giving me opportunities to network,” said O’Neal, referencing this system’s alumni network and mentorship opportunities. “One of my YMA mentors spent his profession at Bloomingdale’s, which definitely encouraged my choice to intern here,” she added. She has been a part of the YMA-FSF program for the reason that she changed into a sophomore at VCU. As a 2018 and 2019 scholar, O’Neal completed merchandising and advertising case research.

Becoming the sole supply chain intern for the summer time, Javier Uriegas, 21, landed an internship with Centric Brands. He attends the University of Texas at Austin, reading style merchandising.
Curious about the one of a kind functions of the style industry, Uriegas saw a bunch of opportunities. Upon entering undergrad, Uriegas became focused on fashion design, however, he pivoted to style merchandising to study extra approximately selling functions. During the YMA’s FSF collection, Uriegas decided to shift gears again and pursue the supply chain route to higher recognize operations and logistics.
Uriegas said the importance of the YMA, saying: “They quite a whole lot did the whole lot for me.”
For a college locked in the contiguous U.S., however nowhere near the fashion capital’s metallic skyline — that’s critical.
After the profession honest, 5 of the recruiters that Uriegas spoke to reached out right away for interviews, and the YMA observed alongside in stride for updates and to help make the sure placement.
Opening doors, the YMA fostered Uriegas’ interest, encouraged his goals and allowed him to discover different ability units in his cutting-edge placement at Centric Brands. Citing being raised in Mexico, Uriegas introduced, “I can definitely say that by no means in my existence did I imagine or suppose I can be within the function I am these days.”