Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards (OMSFA)

I grew up in Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley. Despite seeing all the technological innovations around me, I was never drawn to the tech industry growing up. At UW I learned about the Informatics major and how tech innovation is important in many industries. I have always been interested in fashion as a personal interest and wanted to learn more about how I can combine both passions.

In the summer after my junior year, I had the opportunity to intern at Tiffany & Co. with the global learning and development team. This deep dive into working in fashion/luxury furthered my interest in this industry. I helped the team plan leadership development programs, develop digital courses, and revise the new employee onboarding process. During one of the speaker series, we had the opportunity to listen to Gena Smith the CHRO of LVMH. She talked about the Fashion Scholarship Fund and her role on the board.

This year's FSF Case Study is focused on introducing an innovative form of AI to the fashion industry. At first, I was worried about entering this competition because I had limited experience in the fashion world and only started working on it a month before the deadline. However, this opportunity seemed perfect to grow my knowledge working within the intersection of fashion and tech. Out of all the tracks, I was most drawn to the business strategy as it aligned with my background in product management. In my time researching, ideating, and creating the case study I was able to learn more about working in this new industry.