Apparel Design and Merchandising students shine in the Big Apple
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Five College of Human Sciences' Design, Housing and Merchandising students received the experience of a lifetime when they were each chosen to receive $5,000 scholarships through the Young Menswear Association Foundation Scholarship Fund.
Apparel design juniors Brooke Begalka from Estelline, S.D. and Lizzy Schrantz, from Oklahoma City, along with seniors Christine Corbin from Tulsa, Karolyn Espinal-Briley from Chicago and Meghan Wallace from Plano, Texas were honored with 140 other scholarship recipients at the Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Awards Dinner Jan. 7 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
The rigorous application process for the scholarship began in the fall when each student applicant was to compare Lululemon competitors and then create a SWAT analysis that would help direct the students to create a marketing plan for the new Lululemon line. The apparel design students created designs that would regain the confidence of consumers to purchase Lululemon products again. Merchandising students prepared a merchandise assortment plan for the company as well.
Based on their submissions, the Oklahoma State University students were selected by some of the top names in fashion to receive the $5,000 scholarships at the YMA Gala in January.
“It was a long process of tweaking my designs and rewriting parts of my case study,” Wallace said. “It was a lot of work but in the end it was worth it.”
The scholarship recipients were also given the unique opportunity to attend an internship fair in order to connect with industry representatives and discover summer internship opportunities.
“We were among fashion greats such as Vera Wang, Chip Berg, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Liz Smith, Bill Cunningham and Iris Apfel,” Begalka said. “It was an amazing opportunity.”
Representing Oklahoma State University at the event is becoming a tradition as 10 DHM students have received the award over the past three years. Corbin received the YMA scholarship last year and returning to New York for the second time was something she will never forget.
“My favorite part was that this year, I felt comfortable in New York, and I had career contacts -something that wouldn't have happened had I not received the 2014 YMA scholarship,” Corbin said.
This year’s YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Award Dinner raised more than $3.4 million to help fund scholarship for students. The YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund is a national non-profit association consisting of influential members of the fashion community. They are dedicated to promoting education of the fashion arts and business by granting scholarships to talented students and facilitating internships, mentorships and career programs. The Fashion Scholarship Fund is wholly committed to its mission of recruiting, nurturing and cultivating the best students from its member schools so they become the next generation of leaders in the fashion industry.