The Creator of Elysium

Fashion Shows by definition are an event at which collections of newly designed clothing are modeled for an audience. But, for us fashion students it is so much more. Come Saturday April 29th, we will have logged hundreds of hours preparing for this capstone in our college career. From decorations, and merchandise, to models and marketing, we are tirelessly working to prepare for the 36th annual fashion show, in hopes of it surpassing any of the past shows. We have made strides of progress, but we had to start somewhere.

In the Fall 2016 semester, we were given an assignment for our Merchandise Planning and Control class; develop and present a theme for the show this coming spring. Easy, right? Not so much. I know personally I spent a couple days going back and forth trying to curate something that was fresh, but also wide open for interpretation. What I finally landed on? Elysium.

Elysium, a prominent term in Greek mythology, refers to the “heavenly bliss” of the greek afterlife. It is a direct representation of happiness and beauty. Personally I saw this as a great opportunity for myself and fellow students to demonstrate what fashions made them happy. Taking it a step further, I decided that each individual scene should be named after a Greek God or Goddess, whom the students fashions represented. It was an opportunity to incorporate a high level of inclusivity, while sticking to a strong theme. Now imagine the forum decorated to resemble Mt. Olympus…pretty amazing, right?

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I am excited to be as involved as I am for the show this spring. From deciding the theme for the overall show, designing the aesthetics for the forum, working as the Project Manager for the Front of the House Committee, as well as producing a scene with a fellow student, it is a whirlwind of managing different aspects.

My scene, produced in conjunction with Sophomore, and fellow Event Planning student, Mary Nolan will focus on the Goddess, Gaia. Known as the goddess of earth, our scene will heavily feature, natural bohemian wear, mixed with earthy elements, which truly is a personification of both Mary and myself.

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I am beyond humbled to have had my theme chosen for production from among my fellow students. The level of talent present in this program is astounding, and I still have a hard time grasping that people believe in my theme, as much as they do. The 2017 Fashion show will certainly be a tremendous amount of work, however there is a surplus of creativity, talent, dedication and inspiration that will hopefully push this show to be the best one to date.

Author: Ciera Schwartz

Instagram: @ciera_m

Twitter: @cieramschwartz

Tweeting while making money? Is that a thing?

By Mariah Paddock, Marketing Intern for Director of Business Programs

In today’s society, everyone knows what Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram are, right? WELL, at GCC there is a new concentration, Marketing and Social Media. Today social media is one of the primary ways we communicate with our peers. Due to the increased use of social media, businesses have completely changed the way they interact with the public.

Businesses use social media for brand exposure, to increase revenue, build customer loyalty and also to solicit feedback. With the success that social media has brought, this is a growing career opportunity.

You can earn an associate’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Social Media from Genesee Community College. Some of the careers you could train for include:

· Public Relations Specialist

· Marketing Manager

· Blogger

· Digital Marketing Consultant

· Social Media Specialist

· Online Community Manager

· Social Media Entrepreneur

For further information on the Social Media concentration contact the following:

Associate Professor, Business Administration faculty, Lauren Paisley at lkpaisley@genesee.edu

Assistant Professor, Communication and Media Arts, Valeria C. Bello at vcbello@genesee.edu

Plan Your Path in Accounting: At GCC and Beyond

accounting-word-blob

By Mariah Paddock, Marketing Intern for Director of Business Programs

Who? All accounting majors and anyone interested in accounting.

When? Thursday, February 16^th at 12:30

Where? D252

Why? Come join us for free pizza and a discussion of topics such as course scheduling, transferring, and job searching.

RSVP to Cheryl Corke (cacorke@genesee.edu) or Amy Conley (avconley@genesee.edu)

What are Event Planning Majors up to?

event-planning-boards

By Mariah Paddock, Marketing Intern for Director of Business Programs

Here at GCC many students study Tourism & Hospitality Management with a concentration in Event Planning. Right now students taking Event Planning courses are just getting started with their preparation for the reception of the 36^th annual fashion show. This is an exciting part of semester for students because it’s when they can generate their own ideas.

In the event planning class, the fashion majors on the front of house committee, presented the theme of the fashion show. This is to make the reception decorations reflect the overall theme of the show. After event planners know the theme of the show, they are now working on design boards. The design boards are completed by each student with their own personal theme, concept, and designs of what they think the decorations should be for the reception.

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The overall goal of the event planning class is make the reception have a lasting impression because they have the final interaction with guests.

Stay tuned for updates on the progress of event planning students and their work. Also, don’t forget to come see their end performance yourself on Saturday, April 29^th!

For any other information contact Amy Slusser at alslusser@genesee.edu

“What’s in your future?”

By Mariah Paddock, Marketing Intern for Director of Business Programs

ceo-club

Looking to get involved at GCC?

The CEO Club is the perfect way to meet new faces at GCC while learning all about entreprenuership. CEO Club will teach you to network and strengthen your business leadership skills. You will be able to get hands learning experiences from visiting entrepenuers and learning about their everyday lives.

Don’t wait to get involved.

Join the first CEO Club meeting of the semester on Thursday, February 9th at 12:30 pm in D254.

For more information, contact Amy Conley at avconley@genesee.edu

You can also learn about the CEO Club at the Club Fair Tuesday, Febuary 14^th during common hour. Come join us and we will, “show you the money.”

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Business, Marketing, Management, Social Media and so much more

By: Mariah Paddock, Marketing Intern for Director of Business Programs

Business Administration students keep busy throughout the year doing many different business related projects. Marketing students worked on a project in the Fall to help promote the Genesee County animal shelter. In the future, students will be working on projects for the Random Acts of Kindness week, which is February 13-17^th.

For the first time, students have been invited to participate in the AMA 4^th Annual Professional Chapter Colligate Conference. There are five second year students who will be attending the conference. They hope to make this an ongoing event for marketing students.

If you wish to know more information contact Lauren Paisley at lkpaisley@genesee.edu

GCC to FIT

This past weekend, I was accepted into my dream school, FIT. FIT, the Fashion Institute of Technology, is a State University of New York (SUNY) college of art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. I have wanted to attend FIT since I was a kid. The school offered me the ability to combine my two loves: art and business. I believe the time I have spent at Genesee Community College is the reason why I was able to get into FIT.

I started my studies here, at GCC, for a variety of reasons. Community college presents a truly remarkable opportunity to enter higher education. With the cost of tuition at an all-time high, I turned to Genesee Community College to save money for a year and a half, and then transfer to FIT. I attended a small high school, which had small class sizes and GCC offers the smaller class sizes that I was used to. Smaller class sizes allows for more personalized instruction which was so important to me. GCC also has one of the only fashion merchandising associate programs in the country. I really wanted to go to school for fashion merchandising and GCC was the perfect place for me to continue my education and save money.

GCC has been an incredible place for me to start. I was able to participate in a variety of events, such as the Scholar’s Symposium, the Buffalo Niagara Sales and Marketing Day, the 35h Annual Fashion Show, and so much more. I have had professors who have taught and pushed me to strive for excellence inside and outside of the classroom. I have had the wonderful opportunity to have Professor Dudkowski as my mentor for this past year and a half. He is full of wonderful quotes (“It takes guts to leave the ruts”) and he is always there no matter what to help you succeed. I have made some of the most amazing friends here at GCC. These are friends who continually surprise and inspire me every day. I am thankful for these friends, professors, and GCC employees who have made my Genesee Community College experience a great one.

I will be attending FIT, in January, for Advertising and Marketing Communications.

CEO Trip To The Business Incubator: Harvester Building

By: Christi Lotempio

The CEO club took a trip to the world’s first business incubator. Dr.LaMattina was able to schedule the tour of the facility guided by owner, Mr.Mancuso. The tour was started with beverage at the Moon Java Café. They serve delicious coffee, teas and other beverages and have a selection of lunch items. Mr.Mancuso gave some background information on the Harvester Center explaining that a true business incubator offers more than just space. A true incubator should offer services such as the use of forklifts, or other larger equipment that start up companies may not be able to afford, as well as secretarial services, fax machines, and mail services. One of the most important parts of starting a business is networking and flexibility. Mr.Mancuso believes that talking to people and always re-evaluation of your business plan are a must.

He brought us to the Hodgins Printing Company that has been in the Harvester Building since it started, they actually made the sign that is still hanging. Hodgins Printing Company talked to us about the fact that their company has been in business for two generations. She stated that being able to look into the future and keep updating your business was really important to their success.

Our next stop was OATKA Glass Studio. Mr.Lance Taylor, the owner of OATKA GLASS, was the tour guide. The OATKA GLASS offers many services such as making your own piece, taking classes and they sell artwork. Mr.Taylor expressed the importance of knowing how finances working and the importance of Networking. You need to be able to get out there and meet people and know who you are, to know what your goals are. He has a lot of experience with entrepreneurship, and expressed that it is important to have one person you trust to talk your business plans through. At this stop we were able to make our own glass creation.

Back to the Moon Java Café for lunch. It was delicious! All of the students were discussing what they learned and how it can be applied in their own circumstances.

The last stop was One World Project. We discussed their business goals, how they procure products from local artisans in developing countries, and their inventory management processes. We also had a chance to shop in their gift shop.

If anyone is interested in joining the CEO club please contact Amy Conley.

An American Dreamer: Tommy Hilfiger

While on the annual GCC fashion trip to NYC we were able to meet with alumni, Connor deGuehery, from Tommy Hilfiger. We were able to look at the Tommy Hilfiger store, on 5th Ave, find out what really goes on behind the scenes of planning and putting together each floor.

In our fashion buying class, we got the opportunity to watch a video of Tommy Hilfiger being interviewed and introducing us to his book, An American Dreamer: My Life in Fashion and Business. Tommy informed everyone of how he started out struggling in high school with his grades and concentrating on schoolwork, but transformed into a hardworking, successful ,businessman. Fashion is his purpose for the world.

Some of the highlights that stood out to me from this video were that the company is in the process of adding new technologies within the business and they are quickly changing the rules of the fashion world. They now are working with a new concept where you can buy their clothing with a touch of the screen in the store. You are able to get that quick, and efficient order while still getting that shopping experience that allows you to touch and try on the pieces. This allows the customer to purchase an item, but walk away hands-free! Also, for the first time in fashion history, the Tommy Hilfiger company is looking to change the whole fashion calendar. They are taking the newest designs on the runway, and selling them instantly, no more waiting! This concept is called See Now, Buy Now.This could potentially be a whole new approach for brands. I think it will positively impact the fashion industry in that more people will want to buy the product, increasing sales.

Tommy Hilfiger also grew up in a small town right near GCC and the town, Batavia NY. He grew up and had his first small boutique in Elmira, NY; just under two hours away from our college. It would be a honor to have Tommy come back to Western New York and speak with all our fashion students. That would be such a memorable experience for our college and every fashion student. We are constantly keeping up with the latest news within the Tommy Hilfiger company, as we have alumni a part of it, and are very interested in this ever growing company!

This blog post was written by Kourtney Shearer

NYC Visual Diary Day 3

Greetings from NYC! We leave to go back to Batavia tomorrow morning, but today we had a delightful day in the city. Our first stop of the day was the opportunity to visit LIM college. Our second meeting of the day was with GCC Alum, Samantha, at her place of business, Brandlink Communications. It was wonderful to connect with Samantha and to see how far she has come since attending GCC. This evening we were guests of David Zyla at the National Arts Club to see a presentation on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The presentation was spectacular and informative. In the coming weeks, I will be posting more in depth on each of the wonderful places we were able to visit. All of us in the GCC fashion program want to thank the individuals who were willing to take time out of their day to meet with us. We cannot thank you enough. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @trendy.gcc, on Twitter, @trendygcc, and on Snapchat, @trendygcc.