Ohio State’s Fashion Retail Exchange connects students with industry leaders

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Ohio State's Fashion Retail Exchange connects students with industry leaders

Event brings more than 100 professionals to campus, offering networking opportunities for students

Students at The Ohio State University recently came together to learn from and network with fashion and retail professionals.

Ohio State's College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE) teamed with nonprofit CBUS Retail to present the Fashion Retail Exchange. The event, held at Vitria on the Square on Ohio State's Columbus campus, brought together students majoring in Fashion and Retail Studies (FRS) and related subjects with more than 100 industry professionals.

By participating in the event, students "get hands-on experience to talk directly on a very personal level with people in our industry," said Kristin Paulus, EHE senior lecturer and director of the FRS Industry Advisory Board. "Whether it's supply chain or merchandising, they get the opportunity to meet them in person."

The Fashion Retail Exchange enabled students to network with and learn best practices from industry professionals who shared their expertise during a panel discussion at the event, said Steve Morris, CBUS Retail founder.

"Retail, it's a high turnover industry," he said. "The more people you know, the better off you are. You can get such a different perspective, the more people you talk to."

The Fashion Retail Exchange is designed to foster relationships between students who are exploring career paths and individuals working in fields of interest, said EHE Interim Dean Erik Porfeli.

"This event represents the remarkable community that is the fashion and retail industry in Columbus and how it extends out across the world. And that community represents a powerful opportunity for our students," he said. "Those that are progressing through our Fashion and Retail Studies program, it grants them access and career opportunities."

During the event, students hosted poster presentations and discussed the skills they've acquired by serving as FRS student ambassadors. Their work includes organizing events throughout the academic year, including a job fair, a speaker series and site visits to companies.

Being an ambassador "gives us those real-life skills that we can translate into the real world, like networking with each other, networking with industry people," said Lizzie Garver, who graduated this spring with a major in FRS and a minor in environment, economy, development and sustainability. "We work closely with the FRS Industry Advisory Board. It gives us experience connecting with different sorts of people and putting on these great events for everyone to enjoy."

Serving as a student ambassador is "a great way to meet people and then also gain that leadership experience," said Riley Cruea, who graduated this spring with a major in FRS and a minor in business administration.

Attending the Fashion Retail Exchange also helped students meet movers and shakers in the industry, said Shaniya Slaughter, another spring graduate who majored in FRS and minored in communications.

"I definitely was able to build a lot of connections from the Exchange, being able to talk to a lot of people within the industry with varying levels of experience, from students to industry professionals who have been in their careers for a very long time," she said. "I was able to take in a lot of knowledge all across the board."

The students also shared how they've benefited from internships they received through FRS. Several students said internships led to full-time jobs they started after graduation this spring.

Gabrielle Condo, a new graduate with an FRS major and a business administration minor, has been hired by Dick's Sporting Goods.

"I'm going to be doing their merchandise training program, which is 18 weeks of buying and 18 weeks of inventory planning, and then you get placed wherever you fit best," she said. "I'm very excited to do that because I wanted to go into buying when I was a junior, but I got this internship for inventory planning, so I'm excited to see if I like buying better."

Kylie Kane, an FRS major, will be an assistant merchandiser at Victoria's Secret.

"I definitely have developed leadership skills through Fashion and Retail Studies," said Kane, who also earned a minor in business administration. "I've taken on other responsibilities [by] … also being the co-president of Business of Retail Association. It's through the Fisher College of Business, but it's in partnership with FRS. That's helped me with leadership."

The Exchange also included the presentation of scholarships and awards. Josie Dzierwa, who served as president of the FRS Student Ambassadors this past academic year, received the inaugural Jeff Bradshaw Impact Award. The award honors a student for outstanding leadership, initiative and service.

The award's late namesake was an Ohio State alumnus, a retail industry leader and president of Discount Fashion Warehouse. Paulus and Ohio State's Bass Fishing Club presented Bradshaw's widow and adult children with a custom jersey in honor of Bradshaw, an avid fisher.

Dzierwa, a new graduate who double majored in FRS and marketing, said she learned leadership skills by serving as president of the student ambassadors, overseeing a team of 12 classmates.

"It's like I'm running my own business - I'm talking to our treasurer, our social media [administrator]," she said. "It has taught me so much about delegation and working with a big team and leading a team."

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