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#23 FIT Graduate, Haeun Lee, Embarks on Startup Journey with 'GREENEST' On Wednesday, October 25th, Haeun Choi, an FIT Alumni, visited SUNY Korea to deliver a talk as part of the FIT Alumni Talk series. During her presentation, she shared her journey, from her educational background to her current role as the CEO of GREENEST, emphasizing her dedication to sustainable fashion, and offering valuable advice to aspiring students and entrepreneurs. Here is an interview with Haeun Choi. 1. Can you introduce yourself? Hello, my name is Haeun Choi, CEO of Greenest, which is a sustainable fashion brand based in South Korea. I got an AAS degree in FIT Korea, and a BS degree in FIT New York campus, both with Summa Cum Laude. I majored in Fashion Business Management. 2. Why did you choose to study at SUNY Korea FIT? The reason I chose SUNY Korea FIT is because it was the most optimal choice for me, as I wanted to gain experience not only in New York but also in the fashion industry in Korea. In fact, to work in the fashion industry, understanding consumer psychology and staying attuned to market trends is crucial. FIT offers the advantage of obtaining both an AAS degree and a BS degree from different countries, which has been very helpful in my current business pursuits. 3. Can you introduce your business and explain how you started it? GREENEST is a fashion brand that promotes responsible and refined fashion while aiming to make sustainable fashion more widely accessible. We prioritize sustainability throughout the entire process, from sourcing raw materials to production and shipping. The brands' collections are a fusion of expert craftsmanship, attention to detail, and classic and elegant silhouettes, all designed to enhance the natural beauty of every person. GREENEST's commitment to sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. "Sustainability is a top priority for GREENEST in every stage of the process, as evidenced by the strong emphasis on sustainability in the design of all our collections, including the materials used and overall design." I had the opportunity to take courses on sustainability and the fashion industry at both FIT Korea campus and FIT New York campus, and I realized that the negative environmental impact of the fashion industry was more significant than I had initially thought. Wanting to make a positive impact within the fashion industry, I aspired to launch a sustainable fashion brand to help realize this goal. 4. In what ways did your academic experience at SUNY Korea FIT and FIT New York influence your ability to manage your own brand? I majored in Fashion Business Management at FIT. As a result, I gained a comprehensive understanding of the fashion industry, learned about textiles as part of my general education, and acquired knowledge in marketing and merchandising, which are essential for running a fashion brand. In particular, during my studies, I engaged in numerous case studies of fashion companies, providing me with indirect experience of the challenges that fashion companies face and the opportunity to propose solutions through various projects. These indirect experiences have proven to be invaluable in running my current brand. 5. How do you cope with fear and doubt in your professional journey? In reality, running a business is often navigating the unknown, and in the early stages, I was frequently plagued by uncertainty and experienced significant emotional fluctuations. However, once I accepted that these uncertainties are something all entrepreneurs encounter, I began to find my anxiety diminishing. I believe that managing these anxieties is also an integral part of entrepreneurship. Trusting in my choices and persevering in the way I've chosen to go, I have faith that I will eventually reach the goals I aspire to achieve. 6. What advice would you offer to students pursuing their academic and professional goals? I hope that you won't hesitate to pursue what you want, even if you lack experience or knowledge. Whether you have a wealth of experience and knowledge or not, continuously learning and growing is a common journey. If you have passion or desire, I encourage you to take the first step without hesitation. And always remember that by giving your best effort in every moment, you will eventually see the fruits of your labor. So, try to do your best at all times.
2023.11.08 Hits 13982
# 11 Interview of Sang Hoon Kwak, a FBM graduate [SUNY Korea Graduates on Various Career Journeys #1- Sang Hoon Kwak] Founded in 1944 in Manhattan, Fashion Institute of Technology is one of the first-rate fashion schools world-wide. Since 2017, SUNY Korea FIT has provided the exact same signature curricula of the world-class FIT programs, leading to the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree. Featuring state-of-the art facilities, SUNY Korea FIT prepares students to become not only designers with their own creative vision, but professionals prepared to take their places in all sorts of industries. Are you curious to find out what SUNY Korea FIT graduates are up to after graduation? Below is the story of Sang Hoon Kwak, a FBM graduate who is currently working as a fashion merchandiser for tren:be. Interview Questions: 1) Could you briefly introduce yourself? Hello! My name is Sang Hoon Kwak. In 2017, I majored in FBM and graduated early in December 2020. Currently, I work as a Fashion Merchandiser for tren:be, a global online luxury platform company. 2) What is your current job responsibility? Tell me about your career path after graduation. As an online merchandiser, I am responsible for selecting specific products or brands and conducting a special exhibition, planning and managing monthly events on the tren:be website. Most importantly these days, I’m taking part in one of the biggest parts of the company, the ‘Summer Sale’ event. In addition, I am responsible for everyday fashion trend analysis, even sometimes B2B sales and design planning. Maybe it will be easier to say merchandisers do all kinds of things related to the business. Unfortunately, I had to graduate in Korea due to COVID-19. Unlike my friends, I always wanted to experience and work in Korea; therefore, this pandemic was my opportunity to prepare for certificates for a longer period than others in Korea before graduation. In particular, I used the time wisely to prepare things that are essential for Korean companies such as studying for MOS certificates and the OPIC test in advance. Turning the crisis into opportunity and moving faster than others seems to have helped me adapt to society and move forward even in the pandemic era. 3) What is the most memorable experience/achievement you had as an undergraduate student at SUNY Korea FIT? The most memorable achievement that I had was the first SUNY Korea FIT fashion show with our fashion show club, called ‘+82 Threads’. In ‘+82 Threads’, I was a secretary who mostly supported the president of the club and inspired him sometimes. Since I used to DJ music, I had a chance to direct the entire music of the fashion show. It was such a special memory to all of the FIT students who participated, since we could plan the show by ourselves at the first SUNY Korea FIT fashion show. 4) How do you think the SUNY Korea FIT program shaped you as the person you are right now? First of all, the SUNY Korea FIT program helps students to find their dreams as fashion experts and also develop practical knowledge and skills through detailed courses related to fashion, with great professors who are in the real fashion industry. However, more importantly, through the program you can learn "how to manage time by yourself." From the first year, I learned how to manage voluntary learning patterns and daily life efficiently through programs that require dorm life, and I received a lot of help when I studied in New York after two years. In addition, I think the SUNY Korea FIT program helped me a lot not only to study abroad but also to become an office worker who lives a planned and diligent life in the future. 5) Do you have any tips for FIT students who are looking for job opportunities? I think many graduates and job seekers are having a harder time than anyone else due to COVID-19. However, as I have been through these times as well and overcame them, I could find the one conclusion that I can tell you today. Please be patient about getting a job. Your time will come eventually. If you are too impatient, nothing will be done and only anxiety will grow. I felt most desperately while preparing for employment that each person has the right "time." Maybe it's today for him, while it's tomorrow for the other guy, and finally next will be you. So if we work hard in everything we're given, the chance will come to you by itself. And you'll have to know how to catch it without hesitation. Sometimes when opportunities come, there are too many people who hesitate and miss them, but this is a really important opportunity in your life or maybe this could be your last chance of your life. Do not give up easily; if you give up by making excuses, then your reputation will also fall. Try your best at every moment. Lastly, I believe that having one of your unique ideas or a skill set is really helpful to appeal to the company or the employer. Therefore, if you have time before graduation, start now to prepare for certification or foreign languages and so on. That will change your career. I truly believe that the time you spend studying for yourself before graduation will not betray you in the future. I will always support you! Hope to see you one day in the fashion industry. Thank You. Stay safe!
2021.08.05 Hits 22795
#8 From Intern to Employee, The Story of FIT Aumni Kim Ye-Eun Everyone who works out these days knows about Mularwear. Not only is this brand popular for sportswear, but also for daily outfits as well. Let's meet a FIT (FBM major, Class of 2020) alumni, Yeeun Kim, who is working in the Mularwear Brand Strategy Team in charge of digital campaign managing, striving to strengthen brand awareness and positioning. Listen to the story from her starting as an intern to her becoming a brand marketer. Q1. Please introduce yourself briefly. Yeeun Kim: Hi, I’m Yeeun Kim. I graduated this year with a Fashion Business Management degree at FIT SUNY Korea. Q2. What is your current role and responsibility in Mularwear? Yeeun Kim: Mulawear is Korea’s first yoga wear brand, offering premium activewear, and is expanding to menswear and the athleisure market. Mularwear’s work culture is very flexible and casual. They have implemented a 4-day work schedule to encourage work-life balance and high work efficiency for their employees. There is always upbeat music playing in the office to boost their fun culture. Q3. I heard you started working as an intern. How did you prepare for the internship and did you have any difficulties preparing for it? Yeeun Kim: I think the hardest part for me was doing an interview with the FIT professors. I didn’t have a lot of interview experiences, so I looked up some tips online beforehand. On the flip side, because the interviewers were familiar faces to me, I could be more confident and was less afraid to make mistakes. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had just started when I was assigned to a company. Many companies were working at home, so my internship schedule kept being delayed. In the end, the company couldn’t take me, so I was assigned to Mulawear. I had researched into the previous company and their job, so I was a little flustered due to the sudden change. However, there were other students who have already started working at Mulawear, so I was able to ask for advice. Being with other students gave me a sense of support and made the internship process much easier. Q4. Please explain about the FIT Internship Course (IC297)? Yeeun Kim: IC297 is a course that provides internship opportunities as well as class lectures regarding career preparation. Through these lectures, we work on resumes, interviews, professionalism, and communication skills. We also share bits and pieces of our own internship experiences to gain insight on different career options. Additionally, individuals get to actually intern at matched companies 2-3 days a week. To sum it up, IC297 prepares you for real life after graduation. Q5. What is your current role and responsibility in Mularwear? Yeeun Kim: Currently, I am part of the Brand Strategy team, and our goal is to strengthen brand awareness and positioning. Within the team, my main responsibilities include social media activities and digital campaign management. I also work with brand exposure and sponsorship as well. As a team, we strategize long-term marketing activities and campaigns and work with PR. Q6. When was the most proud moment in your career? Yeeun Kim: My proudest moment in the company was when I was able to report positive results of the first project I managed. The project may not seem prominent to others, but it was the very first project that I managed alone, and it felt good to see the physical results of my efforts. Q7. What were your strengths because you were an FIT student? (Class, faculty, program, etc.) Yeeun Kim: Because our professors are still actively working in the fashion industry, we can get a lot of practical and helpful advice and knowledge aside from lectures and theories. They are always open to talking to students, so it’s easy to talk to them and ask for their opinions when it comes to studying or career. We also have guest speakers and field trips, which allows us to observe and learn about wider boundaries of the industry. Now that I am actually working, I realized that the foundation and knowledge that I picked up at school come in extremely handy in work situations. For example, our course on Excel has helped to handle real life data with ease. With the knowledge, I didn’t fall behind in professional conversations. Apart from merchandising and design, not a lot of people have fashion backgrounds, even in fashion companies. Having a fashion-specific background has let me bring in a new perspective to the team. Q8. What did you get the help from the SUNY Korea CDC? Yeeun Kim: First of all, since my internship opportunity was given by CDC, CDC has played a prominent role in starting my career after graduation. Since I lived abroad most of my life, I didn’t know much about Korea’s fashion industry and the options that were available to me. Thanks to CDC, I was given deeper insights and broader knowledge about possible careers in Korea. Through CDC, you can get your resumes reviewed and improved and that is definitely much more helpful and practical than relying on online resources. Furthermore, CDC followed-up during my internship days to make sure everything was going smoothly. Their active support goes beyond practical things, and I was able to feel secure and supported throughout the whole journey. Q9. What is your current role and responsibility in Mularwear? Yeeun Kim: Currently, I am part of the Brand Strategy team, and our goal is to strengthen brand awareness and positioning. Within the team, my main responsibilities include social media activities and digital campaign management. I also work with brand exposure and sponsorship as well. As a team, we strategize long-term marketing activities and campaigns and work with PR. 10. Do you have any advice for your friends preparing for internships? Yeeun Kim: My best tip would be to make the most out of school’s resources. The professors and CDC are great resources that are difficult to have access to outside of school. It is important to work hard and have a great attitude. Doing so, school will offer you with great opportunities. Then, it is our responsibility to make the most out of it. Even as an intern, your role may seem small at first, but the only way to make it bigger is hard work and great attitude.
2020.10.13 Hits 11247