Category Archives: Training

Apply to Become a Leadership Ambassador!

As a student leader, I cannot express how rewarding it is to serve the FIT community and positively create opportunities and change for students of all walks of life. Whether a prospective student or a current student, I believe getting involved on campus as a leader will give you the skills you need to become a successful business professional, scholarly student and a better person as a whole.

The overall vision of the Leadership Ambassador (LA) team of paraprofessionals is to work with the Counselor for Leadership Programs in the Department of Student Life to create intentional opportunities for students to learn what it means to lead at FIT and in their community. Students with limited involvement seeking to get more involved are encouraged to apply, as well as students who have demonstrated a commitment to student leadership who would like to share their knowledge with their peers.

Some of the duties of a Leadership Ambassador include:

Assist with facilitating leadership education trainings and presentations as ambassadors of the Department of Student Life as needed.
Serve as Student Facilitators on Leadership Weekends (occurs in September and February).
Complete a leadership project based on personal interests in the New York City community and present to college.
Assist in the development of leadership events, service-learning initiatives, and civic engagement opportunities.
Advance communication and marketing efforts for Leadership Programs. This may include the use of social media, websites, promotional tables, and personal communication.
Assist in the recruitment of future Leadership Ambassadors.
Report to the Counselor for Leadership Programs in the Department of Student Life at FIT, and attend all trainings, events, and meetings related to the position.
Support administrative tasks and planning for leadership programs.

It is important to note that the following requirements:

Must have a cumulative college GPA of 3.0.
Must be in good standing in FIT Student Conduct System.
Must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program at FIT for the duration of the 2017-2018 academic year.
Prior attendance at a Leadership Weekend and at least two (2) Leadership Workshops in 2016-2017.

to learn more about the Leadership Ambassador position, click here. APPLICATIONS are now live! Apply by Friday, March 1st to be considered.

Go get em’, Tigers!

Meli B.

Getting to Work: Old Navy

Old Navy – 18th & 6th

Starting work last semester at one of the most entertaining retail clothing stores there is has been a tornado of laughs, stress, and learning. If you are not familiar with the American brand, Old Navy is “a place where you can find all of your wardrobe “must-have’s” at prices you can’t believe. Everything from your favorite t-shirts and jeans to your seasonal fashion faves. A place where every family member is invited. Where everything has great style and quality and the shopping experience is actually fun, not a chore.” (Gap Inc.)

Getting started in April, I was excited to begin a new journey, and my first real retail experience at the flagship store. A flagship is a company’s main store that is used in showcasing the various brands the store offers. Unlike other stores within the chain, the flagship is usually more impressive, bigger and shelves more merchandise than the rest. Getting to know the retail industry from the top of the ladder store was a great learning experience.

Why Old Navy you may ask? In a city filled with competitive H&M, Forever 21, and Zara – Old Navy has always been a brand I associated with the real American dream. From day one, Old Navy was a revolution. They are fabulous, affordable fashion, not afraid to break the industry’s rules. They recognized that fashion didn’t have to be just for rich people – it could be for everyone. With the first store opening in 1994, Old Navy became the fastest retailer to reach $1 billion in sales within four years and today are one of the largest apparel brands in the world, operating more than 1000 stores across the US, Canada, Puerto Rico & Japan.

This is my store, and if you would like to be apart of the brand, be sure to check out the Rotational Management Program (RMP) a 9+ month training program based in our corporate offices in San Francisco and New York City.

As a trainee in RMP, you’ll start the program knowing which product function you will be placed into upon graduation — Inventory Management, Merchandising or Production. During the program you’ll rotate through each function and see how our product lifecycle works — from ideation to production. You’ll develop collaboration skills by working with cross-functional teams to effectively deliver the right product as well as build general management proficiencies. In addition to the ownership of day-to-day responsibilities, you’ll be provided with classroom training and assigned special projects that allow you to make an impact by directly influencing the business and interacting with senior leaders.

While in the program you will rotate within one of the brands – Old Navy, Gap, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Stores or Athleta. Upon graduating you will be placed into a full-time position with competitive benefits and salary within that brand.

Notes From the 6 Train: NCPTW Conference

So these past two weeks are so incredibly hectic. I got to get a break from the city and went to Salt Lake City to present at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing. I had such a blast!

My presentation was titled Art & Rhyme:
Understanding the Importance of Writing Centers in the Development of Female Artistry. I also got to write a semi-research paper *yay, who doesn’t enjoy research papers?* & interview dope women artists. I interviewed a former high fashion model turned fashion designer who works with Barneys, to a radical black/ queer performing artist, a circus inspired satirical burlesque performer who focuses on women’s identity in society, as well as jewelry designer and painter, and classically trained dancer.

I asked them questions about how writing informs their art practice, how writing has helped find opportunities that have furthered their practice/ encouraged growth, (such as grants, residencies, etc.), if the idea of report talk vs. rapport talk *a theory about how women & men are socialized to communicate* factors into the way men and women artists communicate about their work, what tools/ support in writing centers would they want that would affirm & support women their work?

Our hotel that looked like The Shining

While I was working on this presentation, I have to admit, I felt a little overwhelmed. But, ultimately, I feel good that I did it. I introduced an important topic to a group of people who may not otherwise ever get this information, plus, my presentation was well attended and afterwards, several people told me about how much they enjoyed it.

Plus, I got to bond with other FIT writing tutors and go in a trip that was all sponsored on FIT! (Who doesn’t want to do that?)

All Things Color & Love,
Aya Lane

Notes From the 6 Train: Work On Purpose

This past week was the end of my summer internship at the Laundromat Project! It was incredible internship and I’m so glad that I did it! I’ve made new friends, met people in my field and was added to the LP’s list serve. This is a huge deal because now I will access to a variety of different opportunities that I never would known about it before.

During our graduation lunch we received a number of gifts, one of which I want to share with you all! All of the interns were gifted with the book “Work On Purpose,” which is about “the stories of five social entrepreneurs and their journeys from struggle and uncertainty to significance and success.”

The reoccurring adage of the book is “Heart + Head = Hustle.”

These stories are important to hear because for many people the road to meaningful careers isn’t always a straight path. Hearing about the winding paths of several successful and fulfilled people is reassuring. In addition, the book is written in an easy to follow way. with stunning photos, and a variety of activities in the book to supplement the chapters.

I haven’t made my way through the entire book, but I foresee it as a tool that I will continue to draw on, especially with graduation right around the corner. I encourage you all to check it out!

All Things Color, Love & Fashion,
Ayanna Lane

Notes From the 6 Train: Testin’ Ya Strengths

In my last post I briefly touched on the topic on the type of learner I am and I wanted to expand on this topic a bit. I also want to talk about the type of leader you are as well. These are two other pieces of knowledge I picked up in school that can quite helpful in other realms outside the classroom setting.

*the color personality test is one of favorites.

I’ve done several in class exercises and have taken multiple personality tests to assess both of these, but it’s been a while since I reviewed this. When the semester began my international finance teacher has us take a color personality type test that was a nice reminder of my strengths and weaknesses that can be worked on. It was also nice to see how the results may have changed since the last time I took those types of tests and how these (possibly) new strengths can be applied.

I doubt this will happen to any of you!

Before you begin college, and maybe once a year while in school, it would be good idea to take these tests and see if they’re accurate and if they can be applied to areas in your life. Allowing people to be lead by their strengths is especially important once you begin working in teams or on group projects. If it’s a long term group project, you could even suggest the entire taking one of these and deicing work that may best suit their predominant skills and help improve skills that could use strengthening.

Here’s a few websites that have free personality tests:
Color personality test:
http://365tests.com/personality-tests/free-color-personality-test/

What’s Your leadership Style:
http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl-leadershipquiz.htm

What’s Your Learning Style:
http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles.shtml

All things Color, Love, & Fashion,
Ayanna L.