FCS
Textile and Apparel Studies
Meet some of our alumni
Torya Richardson
I am currently in management training with White
House Black Market and will move into a
management position as soon as new stores
open in the Detroit area. I am really excited
about all the opportunities within the company. I
will begin graduate school at Oakland University
to begin a Master’s in Business Administration with
an Entrepreneurship concentration.
Ashley Levine
Shortly after graduation I received a job offer as an
Assistant Design Coordinator for a high-end lingerie
company called Hanky Panky. I relocated to New York
at the beginning of July and have been at my new
career for the past two months. The company where I
am employed is an in-house company, which means
they have their own teams of patternmakers, cutters,
and sewers. I am very fortunate to be gaining first hand
experience from the design concept through
production. Currently, I find myself primarily busy with
work, but I am also trying to get out and explore the
city as well. I live in Murray Hill on 33rd and 1st, which is
only 10 blocks from Hanky Panky’s offices so it is very
convenient. My undergraduate classes and real life
experience helped prepare me for this opportunity, as I
look forward to my career in Fashion Design.
Julie Perpich
I was a store manager for 4 years at Acorn in Atlanta,
Georgia. I decided to try the corporate side and am
now an Assistant Buyer at Macy's. We buy for the
southern stores. I am in girls 2-16 dresses, outerwear,
accessories and swim. I am enjoying it, but there is
so much to learn! I have been there for a little over a
year. I was assistant planner for the first 6 months
and then switched to buying.
Mary Mitchell
After graduating with a degree in Merchandising in
2005, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in
wholesale. I am now a sales rep at Findings Inc., a
multi-line women’s advanced contemporary
showroom. I am the liaison between the
manufacturer/designer and the store. I help buyers
write their orders 
and take care of customer service
after the goods have shipped. It’s so fun to see all the
collections before they hit the stores and to help direct
stores in their buy. Five times a year I travel to New
York, San Francisco and Las Vegas for huge trade
shows. It’s exhausting but fun! Since you see the
design, wholesale and retail aspects of the business,
it’s a great way to see where you fit in the industry. Plus,
it’s a great way to build relationships and make industry
connections.
Teresa Strong
After graduating from WMU, I worked positions in retail management for hard lines and soft lines before moving to Atlanta. I am now the Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President of the Apparel Mart at AmericasMart Atlanta.
Our building is composed of 2.1 million square feet of exhibit space. That includes 8 floors of over 500 permanent showrooms and 6 floors of temporary exhibitor space. Five times per year we have an Apparel Show that includes the permanent showrooms but also 5 floors of temporary booths. All aspects of the apparel and accessory industries are represented enabling a buyer to get everything they need at every price point under on roof.
What do I do you ask? EVERYTHING!
My manager will tell you that I don’t have a typical administrative job and truly it is not administrative at all! My responsibilities include exhibitor relations, budgets and data base organization. This fall I have the unique opportunity to help launch a new international fine jewelry tradeshow. My responsibility is to organize the logistics, operations and floor décor of the show. It is very exciting and I can’t wait until October to see how it all comes together.
In addition to raising a 4 year old girl and being a soccer mom I also received my Master of Science in Management degree, concentrating in Organizational Behavior and Change this past June.
I really enjoyed the textile program and can say my study of Fashion Merchandising has helped me excel in my positions after graduation.
Pailin Lohaphantakit
I am Linn, from Thailand. During my Master’s program in Family and Consumer Sciences, I had the opportunity to participate in an internship program with Thai Trade Center- Chicago. This agency promotes Thai products and businesses to US market. After graduating, I spent over 9 months with them before I decided to move back to my home land.
After arriving back in Thailand, I found that the country’s economy had slowed due to a crisis of political revolution. I was so afraid that it would be difficult to get a job. However, I was hired as a merchandiser for Sapina Holding Corp.,Ltd; it is what I expected to be during on my studying in WMU. The company is a supplier to German and Japanese government organizations. Our products include variety of backpacks, bags, garments and uniforms. My responsibilities include sourcing, developing and marketing. One of my duties now is to seek suppliers. It is very challenging. For example, producing uniforms requires many quality tests. One of my projects is to solve testing problems on our fabric to achieve standards. Another project is establishing a new brand of outfitter products to sell in the Vietnam market. This year, we are working on the concept and design of the product. We expected to go there next year. I just want to share with the students who are studying in FCS that it is very competitive in the fashion and garment industries. You have to find your own identity and express it in different ways.