Middlesex Community College: Fashion Merchandising Alumna Got Her Start At Middlesex CC

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

2/24/2021

Caroline Donovan was unsure of what to pursue for a future career, but knew she wanted a job in fashion as she had been drawn to it since high school. After researching various fields and programs within the industry, Donovan discovered Middlesex Community College’s Fashion Merchandising program.

From Wakefield, Donovan started at Middlesex because the college was close to home and she knew it would offer a strong foundation of knowledge and skills before she transferred to a four-year college in New York City. During her time at MCC, she found everyone she worked with to be helpful and she had “a really great experience.”

“There truly is a lot of opportunity for someone in the Fashion Merchandising program at MCC,” she said. “Also, if students are planning on transferring to a school after MCC, they’re wonderful with the transfer process and can help the student with everything.”

While she was at MCC, Donovan worked at Dressbarn as the Assistant Manager on days she did not have classes. To stay organized, she signed up for morning classes to give herself time to complete her coursework in the afternoon.

“My manager at Dressbarn was very understanding about my schoolwork and she would make sure I had enough time to focus on school as well as working there,” she said. “I used to take advantage of the library at MCC as well as after school to settle down and get my work done.”

Her classes – which all transferred over as credits to her next school – included fashion and retail merchandising, retail management and electives such as algebra, writing essentials and business technology. Donovan enjoyed diving deeper into her subjects and the fashion world, meeting and learning from classmates, and having opportunities outside of the classroom to explore and gain experience in her field of interest.

During her year at Middlesex, Donovan attended two trade shows which she explains as “exhibits that give businesses and companies the opportunity to demonstrate their latest products.” These fashion trade shows – including both a local event in Marlborough and another in Las Vegas – offered companies a chance to feature their clothing and accessories for retailers to purchase and then sell in their stores.

“We wore a specific lanyard to show that we were students, so a lot of the time when we went to the exhibits, they would show us around and tell us all about how it works to be at a trade show showing off their products,” she said. “I loved going around and seeing brands that I recognized from boutiques that I shop at since I was able to see what clothing was going to be sold in the future seasons.”

Donovan went to the MAGIC Las Vegas trade show in February 2018 with three other students and MCC Fashion Merchandising faculty member Ashli Ree. Calling it the “best trip,” she got to experience firsthand what it meant to work in the fashion industry.

For Donovan, Ree was an influential professor during her time at MCC and even after she graduated by offering her guidance on her next steps and how to achieve her goals.

After a year at Middlesex, Donovan transferred to the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM) in Manhattan to study Fashion Media. Ree reached out to her in August 2020 when she realized Donovan only needed 36 more credits for her associate degree. Going through a reverse transfer process, Donovan was able to take the credits she earned from LIM to use towards an associate degree at Middlesex.

“By doing this reverse transfer, I was able to complete two degrees which will benefit me when it comes to applying for jobs,” she said. “Now I have one degree in Fashion Merchandising and one in Fashion Media, so this opens a lot of doors for me.”

Having earned a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Media from LIM in December of 2020, Donovan is now looking for production assistant jobs in New York. In the future, she is thinking about getting a master’s degree in Marketing. She credits her time at Middlesex with helping her succeed at LIM and in the coming steps of her academic and professional journey.

“MCC helped me become the person I am today,” she said. “I took everything I learned at MCC and brought it with me to LIM. Even after I left LIM, MCC has helped me with my studies and my career opportunities.”

MCC’s Business programs help students go into – and succeed in – the workforce or transfer to four-year schools with its award-winning and affordable offerings, small class sizes and flexible schedules. Visit https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/discover/dyp_business.aspx for more information and to discover your path to a Business degree at Middlesex.

MCC’s accelerated eight-week Spring Mini-mester starts on Monday, March 29. Complete general requirements and earn credits with the same high-quality content, academic standards and number of instructional hours as courses scheduled in the traditional 15-week semester. To register, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!

This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.