Alumni

FIDM Places as Top Three Finalist Team in 2023 NRF Foundation Student Challenge

Congratulations to FIDM students Kiera Berry, Shannon Curley, Kristin Hall, and Avery Van der Linden, a top three finalist team in the 2023 NRF Foundation Student Challenge case competition. Each team was tasked with developing and pitching a new growth strategy for Public Lands, a new outdoor specialty retail concept with a unique and inclusive mission to celebrate and protect public lands for all. They presented their final pitches to retail executives in NYC this January, and the students were awarded $2500 each.

This is the third year in a row FIDM students have placed in the top three finals in the NRF Foundation Student Challenge. Last year a FIDM team earned first place while in 2021, FIDM teams placed first and third. This year our team placed third. This year also marks the first time a FIDM student placed as a finalist in the Next Generation Scholarship. 

Hiral Patadia was one of five finalists for The Next Generation Scholarship and was awarded $10,000. She created a private label wellness and beauty brand for Nordstrom as well as participated in a Q&A session with participants from the NRF Foundation Board of Directors. Hiral earned her A.A. in Visual Communications from FIDM and will graduate in March 2023 with her B.A. in Digital Marketing.

Avery Van der Linden (B.A. Creative Industry Studies, Merchandising & Marketing and Fashion Design Core), Kristin Hall (B.A. Creative Industry Studies, Merchandise Product Development Core), Shannon Curley (B.S. Beauty Business Management, A.A. Beauty Marketing & Product Development), and Kiera Berry (B.S. Apparel Technical Design) placed third and were awarded $2500 each. Their challenge was to present three compelling hypothetical markets for Public Lands, a new division of Dick's Sporting Goods, then select the best hypothetical market and develop a marketing launch strategy. They went through several rounds of judging, always moving to the next round, and ultimately gave a 15 minute presentation to four executive judges including the CEO of Dick's/Public Lands.

The award ceremony took place in New York on January 15 at a gala attended by industry executives.

Categories:  Beauty Business Management Beauty Marketing & Product Development Creative Industry Studies Digital Marketing Graphic Design Merchandise Product Development Merchandising & Marketing Visual Communication Alumni Student