Fashion marketing and management at SCAD. Image courtesy of SCAD.
Ashley Chan recently graduated SCAD at the end of winter quarter 2016. This 22 year-old from Chicago has a B.F.A. in fashion marketing and management and was kind enough to share her post-grad perspective with upcoming SCAD graduates.
Lauren Sennet: How’s the recent post-grad life been?
Ashley Chan: It’s been great. I don’t have to worry about school and I get to concentrate on work. I’m working ful- time at Stuart Weitzman at the Lenox mall here in Atlanta. My title is sales associate, I sell luxury shoes and sell about $6,000 dollars worth of merchandise per week.
LS: Were you freaking out about graduating college?
AC: I wasn’t freaking out until everyone started asking me what’s your next step? I graduated this past winter quarter and all of my friends that are seniors still had another quarter left. It didn’t even feel like I was graduating because no one was sharing the excitement with me.
LS: What is your next step?
AC: I’m only working at Stuart Weitzman until June and then I’m going back home to Chicago. I got an 8-week summer internship at Nordstrom’s. I’m really excited about it. I’ll be working in the men’s department and shadowing my manager. I’ll learn the ropes of fashion marketing and tasks like scheduling. Ideally in the future I’d like to become a buyer, get married and travel the world.
LS: Do you have any advice for incoming freshmen who would like to pursue a major in fashion marketing?
AC: First thing to know is at SCAD we abbreviate fashion marketing to FASM. FASM is not nearly as creative as the fashion design major. Fashion design requires a lot of work and sewing. In FASM, you’re learning about marketing and the business of fashion. Everyone thinks FASM is an easy way to break into the fashion industry, but it’s not. It’s plain and simple to survive being a FASM student at SCAD; you have to be very diligent.
LS: Do you feel that you’re more ahead then some of your peers who are graduating this spring?
AC: I might have more job security than some of my peers because I have an internship lined up. All throughout my last quarter I was constantly applying for jobs and internships. I have been successful because I started applying early and had to meet certain application deadlines. The Nordstrom deadline was in January. I got lucky and heard back from them a few weeks later.
LS: Do you have any words of wisdom about being a professional, hard-working girl?
AC: I think everyone should work in retail at least once in their life. You’re dealing with all sorts of people, some who are rude, and you need to have patience. Working in retail makes you a stronger person and often a better person too.