Undergraduates Make Fashion Statements

From left to right: Ji Yun Lee ’11, Paul Rosengard ’80, Abigail Katznelson ’11, M.A.’12, and Danielle Schivek ’11.
© PATRICK MCMULLAN.COM
From left to right: Ji Yun Lee ’11, Paul Rosengard ’80, Abigail Katznelson ’11, M.A.’12, and Danielle Schivek ’11.

Imagine a computer science major getting to talk product innovation with Steve Jobs, a young investor reviewing bottom lines with Warren Buffett, or a budding basketball player shooting baskets with Kobe Bryant.

Aspiring Brandeis fashionistas Abigail Katznelson ’11, M.A.’12, Ji Yun Lee ’11 and Danielle Schivek ’11 had a comparable experience recently as they rubbed well-styled shoulders with Diane von Furstenberg and other industry giants at the annual YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF)/Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Awards Dinner on Jan. 11 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

The three Brandeis students each won a $5,000 scholarship through the highly competitive FSF program. In addition to the merit-based scholarships, they will have access to internship opportunities and career mentoring. About 30 leading institutions participate, including Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, Rhode Island School of Design, the University of Virginia and Parsons (The New School for Design).

Paul Rosengard ’80, head of menswear for Li & Fung USA and chairman of YMA FSF, helped get his alma mater involved with the program. Applicants were required to submit case studies involving issues related to the fashion industry.

“As a proud alumnus, I find it gratifying that three Brandeis students were selected as recipients the first year in which the university participated in this prestigious scholarship program,” Rosengard says.

Lee hopes to work on the business side of the fashion industry, Katznelson wants to develop her own line of apparel, and Schivek is pursuing a career in fashion law and advocacy.

For more information on the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund, contact Joseph Du Point at the Hiatt Career Center at 781-736-3613 or dupont@brandeis.edu.