Eight students from the Department of Retailing and Tourism Management (RTM) recently attended the National Retail Federation's (NRF) BIG Show in January, along with Dr. Scarlett Wesley, Associate Professor. The show was held January 15-17 in New York City and provided nearly 500 students from across the country a unique opportunity for career exploration. With attendance at the BIG Show, students don’t have to wait until graduation to learn about retail’s diverse career paths, build relationships or make connections in the industry.
Participating in the show puts students in a room with executives behind the retail industry's most popular brands, providing them the chance to hear career advice and meet retail recruiters offering prime internships, training programs and entry-level career opportunities. The weekend included a keynote session with Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, Inc., the Executive Mentor Experience and a Get Hired event where students were given the opportunity to interview in-person with retail recruiters.
Among the University of Kentucky students attending were NRF Student Ambassador Madison Elder and NRF Rising Star Kristina Rosen. Elder and Rosen were appointed these positions by faculty in the Department of Retailing and Tourism Management during the fall 2015 semester.
Elder's selection was based on her status in her degree program, academic standing, extracurricular activities and retail work experience. Her primary role is to promote NRF and student involvement on UK's campus. “The overachieving goal I have during my position is to increase NRF and National Retail Federation Student Association (NRFSA) student awareness within the RTM department,” said Elder. “Last semester, I had a student recruitment goal that the department exceeded, which was very exciting!” Elder considered attending the NRF's BIG Show the most exciting part of her experience as a Student Ambassador. “We received great benefits from attending, including connections, mentor advice, interviews, goodie bags and more—you name it, we got it,” said Elder.
The NRF Rising Star position recognizes an underclassman who wants to learn more about the opportunities in the retail industry early in their academic career. Last year Rosen stepped up as the Community Outreach Coordinator for the RTM Club Denim Drive. “With that role, I planned the community event with the Lexington Fashion Collaborative, which I think played a large role in me receiving this award," said Rosen. She looks forward to being able to go back to New York for the NRF Student Program in her future years as an undergraduate student. “Going this year, I learned about other scholarship opportunities that are available and was fortunate enough to attend the NRF Foundation Gala with a few other NRF Rising Star recipients,” said Rosen.
Students interested in learning more about the NRF or NRFSA should reach out to Elder or Rosen, Dr. RayeCarol Cavendar, or Dr. Scarlett Wesley. UK students have created a “National Retail Federation Student Association at UK” page on Facebook for prospective students to learn more. Elder added, “More specifically, if any students are interested in the Student Ambassador position, they should reach out to Dr. Wesley and Dr. Cavendar to simply ask questions and show their interest in the industry as a whole.”
MAT students (from left to right) Carli Holbrook, Lauren
Watkins, Kristina Rosen, Felicia Mings, Madison Elder,
Ellen Waymire, Rachelle Durham and Anna Trenkamp
at the NRF BIG Show.
Photo 2 caption: Lauren Watkins (left) and NRF Student
Ambassador Madison Elder (right).
NRF Rising Star Kristina Rosen (left) attends the
NRF Foundation Gala with Florida State
University’s NRF Rising Star who she met during
the NRF BIG Show.