Hi everyone,
CONGRATULATIONS! you successfully made it through the school year. Special congrats to the graduating class of 2017.
Watch as the graduating class is transformed from students to alumni. Essie Weingarten, of Essie Cosmetics, and LL Cool J were also honored as nearly 4,000 students received their degrees.
MB
Although I’m not graduating this year, we are all preparing for the last few weeks at FIT! If you are graduating this year, here are some tips to survive the countdown to a new chapter in life!
The last semester in NYC can be stressful. Everyone is freaking out about what they are going to do after graduation, sending out job applications or preparing for one they have secured. It is important that you remember that you only have a few weeks left to be a college kid, so you need to make time to have some well-deserved fun. You have your entire life to sit at a desk working from 9-5 and only a few months left to stay out until 4 a.m. with all of your best friends—take advantage of this. Don’t waste the last month of your college career so stressed out about the future that you are unable to enjoy the moment. Live in the now, because you will regret it if you don’t later.
That being said, it is also important to keep up with your schoolwork. Senioritis is STILL a very real thing, but make sure that it doesn’t get so out of control that you are scrambling at the end of the semester to pass all of your classes. I am not suggesting that you slave in the Feldman Center computer lab or the Gladys Marcus Library, but going to class and keeping up with your assignments will make your life so much easier come finals week. Why screw up what you have worked so hard for the last four years at FIT in your final semester? Have fun, but don’t completely neglect your school work.
This is a major key to surviving the beginning of the end. Yes, technically you are an adult now that you are graduating, but you are also only twenty-_______ years old (or older!). If you still aren’t 100 percent certain what you want to do with your life, the good news is that you are still allowed to change your mind. Try not to get too caught up in who has a job and who doesn’t. Have faith in yourself. You made it through four years at one of the most competitive school in the creative world. You are more than capable of landing a job, so, have a little faith and patience. It will all work out.
Take as many pictures of you and your friends as you can. These will be nice to look back on after graduation when you are missing your friends and the place that you have made your home for the last four years – NEW YORK CITY. Document it all thoroughly, because grown up you will thank college you for it later.
Remember all of those things you and your friends have talked about doing for the last four years, but never did? Now is the time for you to cross the remaining items off of your bucket list. You only have a few months left to do it, so live it up. In a few months you won’t be here anymore, so who cares if a couple of the items are embarrassing, it will be worth the Snapchat/Instagram story.
This is the most important way for anyone to survive their final semester of their collegiate career. The friends you make in college become your family. They are there for you every step of the way through some of the best/worst years of your life. They have seen you at your best and seen you at your lowest, but have loved you anyways. College would have been nothing without them, so make sure you are spending as much quality time with them as you possibly can these last couple of weeks. Soon you will be scattered across the country working your new jobs living in your very first apartment, and you will miss the days when they were just a room away. Don’t take these last few weekss together for granted.
Graduating from FIT is bitter sweet. You are sad to leave the friends and life you have made for yourself the past four years behind, but you are also excited to see what the future holds. College might be over, but the rest of your life is about to begin. Make sure that you are excited about all of the amazing things that your future holds for you! There are so many places for you to go and things for you to see. Try not to focus solely on the things that you will be leaving behind. You are about to set off on an entirely new adventure.
Mariely Payano is a graduating Fashion Business Management student that is currently interning at Adidas, and has previously interned for Rebecca Taylor and Bloomingdale’s. Coming from Brooklyn, she grew up heavily influenced by her surroundings. In the 6th grade, she became fascinated with fashion by industry maven Lauren Conrad on the hit reality show “The Hills.” Mariely was happy to know that that you could really pursue a career in fashion, and ultimately let her to FIT.
Why did you chose to come to FIT?
“I felt like the Fashion Institute of Technology has a really good sense of opportunity. If I wanted a career in fashion, I knew that this school would allow me to work in city, which I really wanted to do. I didn’t care for a “real college experience.” I knew FIT was going to prepare me for the future.”
How did FIT prepare you?
“The school really has a lot of connections, and you need to be willing to get out there and find the right people in order to achieve. FIT gave me a better understanding of how the industry really works, and not just the glitz and glam you see in TV.”
Do you feel you are ready for the fashion industry?
“I honestly think I am. FIT has a good emphasis on the business world, excluding fashion. I feel that I can apply these skills in everyday situations in my field. You need to have a general understanding of business… FIT is fashion focused, however it’s business savvy.”
Dorming vs. Off-Campus?
“Dorming is an obvious convenience, but commuting is also cool too. It really gives you a sense of independence, annoying, but definitely manageable with good time management and scheduling!”
How was the internship process, and how are you enjoying your internship?
“When you are sending out applications during the internship process make sure to put yourself out there as much as you can. Interning at Adidas, I really enjoy the environment. I also really love shoes now (I’m usually all about heels), but it is very interesting and I’ve learned a lot!”
Favorite year at FIT?
“I really enjoyed Freshman year, it opened a lot of opportunities and friendships that I still have throughout my whole academic career.”
How has FIT changed you?
“I feel like I am more determined now. There is a good amount of healthy competition here so I think that it motivated me to always do my best. FIT also gave me a really good sense of the industry, and an idea for the future.”
Any regrets?
“It would have not hurt to do more internships; since it gave me a sense of what I what I like and don’t like. I’m still happy with myself and the things I stayed focused on.”
After graduation?
“I’m starting to look for a fitting career. I have a really open outlook on the opportunities that may arise. I’m kinda just going with the flow with the knowledge and skills I have learned at FIT.”
Words of Advice
“Don’t rush, even though you might want to, it goes by faster than you think! Take initiative, you never know what can happen in the long run, and who is watching. Try to be as well-rounded as possible, be involved in the school. Make the best out of your time – be present.”
Hi everyone!
As midterms and term projects are starting to wind down, I am starting to begin my job search for after college. I still have till December to find a job but my hopes are to find a new internship over the summer who will then offer me a full time job before I am done with school. While for most this isn’t ideal but I have worked full time all throughout college and I am ready to accept the challenge. Some advice I recently received was that you cant wait around for your perfect job, when your first looking for a job you take the best offer and work your way up. I know so many people who have been out of college for years and are still bartending looking for there dream job, so you cant be picky.
Some places I have been looking are:
If you have no luck with these you can always use the career center at FIT , as well as talk to some family friends, friends, family, ect. I have found my best jobs have been ones that I have known someone who’s known someone and recommended me for the position. Networking can only benefit you, even consider reaching out to old professors especially ones with there own business or who are still in the field.
May the odds be ever in your favor,
Xoxo Kailee
I just returned from Boston where I attended my best friend’s graduation. Look how beautiful she looked!
I am beyond proud of my her, she’s essentially my sister, as I’ve known her since we went to kindergarten together. She’s not just good-looking, but also incredibly intelligent & passionate. This fall she will continue her education at Berkeley to get her Phd.
I was slated to graduate this May, but as I am a transfer student, I was set back by just a semester. So I will be graduating in the fall (yay!). For a while, I was quite upset that I wasn’t graduating “on time.” I felt like I was failure, and was ashamed about telling people, as there is stigma about graduating “late” (which I’m not sure what that means since there are significant amount of students who graduate undergrad in more than 4 years.)
But, as mentioned before, not only am I “okay,” with the fact that I have a remaining semester, but I am thankful for it. There are programs, people and things I would am able to do that are necessary for (that have and will continue to mold my life) if I graduated this May. This was certainly about a bigger plan, divine order if you will.
This, learning to deal with unforeseen circumstances with grace, is one of the most important lessons I’m learning, which has been spearheaded by college events. If I hadn’t, I would have been at my soul sister’s graduation reeling with hidden jealously and disappointment. However, knowing, confidently that both of our paths are leading us to passionate,full lives of magic and love, I was able to be in present and overwhelming proud with a heart of joy.
Sometimes, we set plans and things change. And that’s okay. A quote I heard recently and identified with a lot is “we make plans & God laughs,” that’s life. Let go of the reins and enjoy the ride.
All Things Color, Love & Fashion,
Ayanna Lane