Photo of Cassandra in front of yellow and blue house, taking a selfie but looking at the camera. She has black and pink hair and is wearing a black sleeveless top and jeans.

Alumni

Mattel Hires Grad Cassandra Scholnick as Lead Brand Designer on Barbie and Dolls Global Marketing Communications Team

Business Management Grad Cassandra Scholnick starts her new position this week at Mattel working as a Lead Brand Designer on the Barbie and Dolls Global Marketing Communications team. After 10 years working in the beauty industry, Mattel represents a slight shift in direction. “Mattel is a toy company but Barbie transcends industries.”

Cassandra grew up Escondido, CA, northwest of San Diego, and attended Escondido High School. At FIDM, she pursued an A.A. in Beauty Industry Merchandising & Marketing (now Beauty Marketing and Product Development) and a B.S. in Business Management, completing her studies in 2010. We checked in with her to learn more.

Tell us about your position at Mattel! What is your title and what will you be doing? I will be working as a Lead Brand Designer on the Barbie and Dolls Global Marketing Communications team at Mattel. My focus will be developing content and motion graphics specifically for Barbie.

When do you start? What are you looking forward to? I just started this week! I'm looking forward to making my own tiny contribution to a brand that has touched the lives of millions of people worldwide. Barbie is such an iconic, heritage brand. Barbie was created to show girls that they have choices and in recent years Barbie has done so much to be a champion of diversity and inclusion. I think that's so powerful and important. I'm proud to contribute to that legacy!

How did FIDM help prepare you for this position? I use the skills and lessons I learned at FIDM in every job I take. The knowledge I gained from attending a fashion-forward school like FIDM has definitely helped sharpen my skills as a strategic creative.

What advice do you have for FIDM students as they start their careers? Be open to other avenues your career might take. When I started at FIDM, I chose to focus on the beauty industry and marketing because that's what interested me at the time. I didn't think I would have a career in art direction or graphic design but I found I gravitated to those areas more than traditional marketing and communications. You don't have to follow a job description to a T. Always look for opportunities in any job you take and create your own opportunities when you can!