How did this little small town Indiana girl end up in the big city? A question I have been getting a lot more of lately. I can start by saying it has always been my dream to live here. I remember the first time my dad took my sisters and I here and I just fell in love. I knew I would do whatever it took to one day call this place my little home!
So to start at the beginning I attended Indiana University in Bloomington. Trust me I loved everything about my undergrad experience. There is truly no better place to go to college than IU! From tailgates, to basketball games to the beauty of this small town it is everything you could want in a school. While there I studied Apparel Merchandising with a minor in Marketing. This major pretty much fell into my lap. I wanted to (in the beginning) work for the United Nations but when I couldn’t pass my Spanish class that dream QUICKLY DIED. So fashion it was!!
You may think because IU is in the Midwest the fashion program was “probably terrible”. Well that’s where everyone is wrong. This program was absolutely amazing! I mean we had companies ranging from Target in Minnesota to LVMH coming to recruit. So when I was a sophomore going into my junior year I knew this was my chance to start looking for internships in NYC.
SHOP THIS POST:
Culotte Jumpsuit | Marks & Spencer (similar) // Booties | Ego // Hoop Earrings | Capwell & Co.
When I say I started looking at internships.. I was a sophomore, so basically there were no such thing as a fashion “paid internship in New York.” Therefor at 20 years old my absolutely crazy parents let me move to NYC to work for the dress company Donna Morgan without any compensation whatsoever. I still look back and cannot believe my parents let me do this but… it was the greatest summer of my life. It is the summer Kelly & I began this blog! I learned absolutely so much about the industry and myself. I also lived alone in a NYU dorm which I thought I would hate but loved more than anything. I will always remember that summer. 🙂
From my sophomore summer I quickly moved to my junior summer where I was taken A BIT MORE seriously. I landed an internship with Macy’s Corp in Manhattan and.. IT WAS PAID!! I was placed as an Inventory Planner in the ever exciting field, kitchen electrics! Basically I could tell you everything about the Nutri Bullet. So glam right?! Even though I hated Inventory Planning I really loved the company. Yes it is corporate but every person I worked with so nice, kind and just wanted me to succeed. Now you try finding that in the fashion industry!
Therefor upon graduation I accepted a position with Macy’s in Product Development! Yay.. EMPLOYED. All the while Kelly and I were still growing this blog and during my senior year I had the pleasure/joy of meeting one of my greatest mentors in life Jessica Quirk of lifestyle blog What I Wore. I ended up working for her throughout my senior year and learned SO much about the business of blogging & social media. My biggest piece of advice here is even if you are in Bloomington, IN you can still find someone that will inspire you!
Fast forward to now! I have been with Macy’s for a year and four months on the Thalia Sodi team. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by people that want me to succeed on a daily basis. Yes I don’t work for Dior but I work for nice people and that’s what matters to me. I started my Macy’s career with a simple interview through the Indiana University College of Arts & Sciences, I bombed a question about pivot tables in excel but they said I had a personality so they gave me a go!
Always be yourself! I cannot believe I have been a “New Yorker” for over a year and a half now. So many more memories and adventures to go on! Ahh! If you ever have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments below!
Photos by: Laurel Creative
Leave a Reply