For fashion merchandising students, if there’s anything better than going to New York City to explore the ins and outs of the profession, it would be making the trip during the height of the holiday shopping season, when retailing goes into overdrive.
That’s what a group Austin Community College students recently discovered when they traveled to the Big Apple to participate in the 2011Â Collegiate DECA Leadership Academy. The trip and conference was part of the ACC course Special Topics in Business Marketing and Marketing Management (Marketing 1391).
Students Alexandria Guzman, April James, Glenn Allen, Audrey Collins, Brandon Parry, and Gretchen Hunter attended the DECA Leadership Academy.
Through workshops, case studies, and sessions with industry professionals, DECA conference participants learned about careers in fashion merchandising, sports and entertainment marketing, business and finance, hospitality, and advertising. ACC attendees networked with their counterparts from other colleges and had behind-the-scenes access to the world of fashion manufacturing and sales.
ACC Adjunct Professor Kathy Walton, PhD., who teaches Marketing 1391, says the academy is an eye-opening experience for students that offers the some of the benefits of an internship in a compressed amount time.
“The program helps students see their chosen majors in a hands-on, fun way,” she says. “The students grow professionally and personally.”
“We gained leadership skills we will need once we’re out in the workplace,” says student Brandon Parry. “We put skills we’ve learned into practical use.”
“We gained leadership skills we will need once we’re out in the workplace. We put skills we’ve learned into practical use.”
Walton says the academy also gives students invaluable access to industry professionals. ACC students met with executives from the TJX Companies, parent of T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, and Homegoods stores. The meeting was part of an assigned case study examining the off-price retailer’s business model.
“We were put into real-world situations and asked to come up with real-world solutions, and then present our ideas,” says student Gretchen Hunter. Teams comprising students from different schools competed against each other to prepare and present their case study information. Hunter says one her proudest moments was when her team was named the winner.
Other trip highlights included a visit to the Fashion Institute of Technology and a “Gotham City Fashion Tour.” As a bonus, the trip coincided with the one night each year when the city’s renowned flagship department stores install their holiday window displays, providing the students with stunning examples of the merchandising techniques they have read about in textbooks.
Walton notes that the Marketing 1391 course and the DECA conference is not solely for fashion merchandising students – other career tracks in this year’s conference included visits to the New York Stock Exchange and the United Nations.
“The students who attend are able to sort out their futures and gain insight into their career in an exciting, experiential way,” she says.
Students interested in the course and the conference are invited to visit the Marketing 1391 website or contact Walton at [email protected].