Grace Ouma
As she completed a degree in journalism at Rutgers, AAS Fashion Marketing student Grace Ouma had an epiphany — and a problem. Working frontline retail jobs to get through the undergraduate years, she realized that her longtime passion for fashion had grown into a full-fledged professional calling. “I knew I loved fashion. I just didn’t understand how to make it a career.”
She was determined to learn and eager to adapt her interpretive talents to the fashion marketplace, but she needed a full-time job. She began a career in advertising, putting the call on hold. Then she discovered that Parsons offers its AAS Fashion Marketing program in the evenings and online. “It’s amazingly hands-on and collaborative,” says Ouma of the online program, with numerous field assignments and dynamic group projects. Heading into her last year, Grace still is working full-time. But because Parsons’ Career Services staff helped her make a career change, she’s working in the fashion industry at a job that she loves.