Drawing from her undergraduate experiences at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补 (CTAHR), alumna Jada Rogers is now thriving in her fashion retail career. Rogers, a Kentucky native who chose to study at 糖心视频 惭ā苍辞补 to combine her love of fashion with her desire to live in Hawaiʻi, is now a retail buyer at Maui Divers Jewelry.
Rogers focused on fashion merchandising during her time at 糖心视频, and she credits a retail buying class taught by Professor Abbie Cristi for clarifying her career aspirations.
“That class helped me realize my passion for retail buying because I love math and I love fashion, and retail buying is essentially combining both math and fashion into a career field,” Rogers said.
In addition to her coursework, Rogers participated in an internship at Mikinola, a local boutique, where she gained hands-on experience in aspects of small business operations, including working on inventory, helping with store events, assisting on the sales floor and processing online orders. Rogers expressed that working at a local company made her a “more well-rounded person” and broadened her understanding of how a business operates.
Another formative experience for Rogers was a fashion show production class, which enabled her to work with design students, help produce a fashion show in 2021 and 2022, and find a professional mentor.
“The fashion show was completely virtual [in 2021] because of the pandemic,” Rogers said. “There were a lot of trials and tribulations and figuring that out, but we worked as a team and we did it! Through that class, I got to work with fashion producer Lynne O’Neill in New York Fashion Week. I am fortunate that Lynne and I have stayed connected after graduation.”