Success: The Seminar

Friday, November 20, 2009:
The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago presented the "Student Success Seminar" to further prepare students for their future careers in the fashion industry. The seminar was perfectly guided by the wonderful Mr. Richard Petrizzi. As a professor at ILIA, Mr. P is an inspiring individual with an attitude so positive, he can raise you out of a homework meltdown with just a smile.

The day began with an introduction by Pat Giller and Jill Hinrichs from Career Services offering guidance and assistance in helping us to shape our careers. They were followed by a panel of current students speaking about their internships at some of Chicago's most exciting companies. Sherry Roath spoke about producing fashion shows and handling aspects of marketing at Water Tower Place. Jessica DeGolyer shared her experience with GenArt, a company that strives to give a voice to emerging designers and artists. I spoke about my time at Michigan Avenue Magazine as an intern for the editor-in-chief, working with many other fantastic interns and industry professionals.

The panel was followed by some inspiration from instructors Dan Robison, Shireen Musa and personal mentor of mine, Sandra Henderson-Williams. They shared their insights on the industry and how their careers were shaped. (They also made us laugh quite a bit.) Later, Michael Johnson shared his top tips for staying sharp in the job market and Richard Petrizzi made us think deeper. (He also reminded us of all the fantastic acronyms he uses.)

Mr. P, you're FABE.

Mr. P and his bag of fantastic prizes:


After lunch, a panel of industry professionals joined the seminar to share stories and answer questions. David Ginople (owner of Store B), Troy Parrish (Visual Manager at Gap on Michigan Avenue), Beatrice Moore (sales and visuals for Gap), Kevin Sullivan (owner, Kevin Sullivan Events), Sandra Henderson-Williams (instructor at three of the city's top art colleges, former Senior Buyer for Sears), Lidia Wachowska (ILIA instructor with a background in academia) and Barbara Glass (Image and Wardrobe Consultant, contributing NBC5 reporter and blog writer of www.barbaraglass.blogspot.com.)

The seminar wrapped up with a clever speech from Mr. P and the students and professionals had some time to network and learn more about each other. I got the chance to meet some some fantastic fellow students and was able to share with them my experiences and successes as I approach graduation. With only one official day left* at Michigan Avenue Magazine and less than four weeks of school, I find myself diving quickly into the unknown.

Which is just fine by me.

-R.M.B.

*I will may come back to Michigan Avenue Magazine for a day or two a week. :)

Dan Robison schools us on Team Work:














Michael Johnson gets us ready to interview:












Back: Kevin Sullivan, Barbara Glass, Sandra Henderson-Williams,
Lidia Wachowska
Front: Troy Parrish, Beatrice Moore, David Ginople













Two of my very favorite people, looking gorgeous!
Barbara Glass and Sandra Henderson-Williams:


















Myself with one of my best buds, Barbara Glass: