Now, More Than Ever
When so many can feel isolated and alone, the Fashion Scholarship Fund video series, "Now, More Than Ever"
brings the FSF family closer with intimate, inspiring, and moving profiles of Scholars and Alumni
as they make their way through the uncertainty of a life currently spent sheltering in place.
Javier Uriegas, two-time FSF Scholarship recipient and senior from The University of Texas at Austin, shares, “The Fashion Scholarship Fund is important now more than ever to me because this is a time where I need the most support in my career. It brings a lot of comfort to know that there's always going to be someone there to lend a hand.”
2013 Fashion Scholarship Fund Scholarship recipient Lindsay Choi was recently furloughed and is quarantining at a friend’s house. She is apprehensive, not only about her future, but also about the future of the fashion industry. Lindsay remains positive, especially because she has the FSF to help her stay connected to her network: “It's amazing that the Fashion Scholarship Fund remains a resource for us during a time like this – providing hope that the future will be okay.”
Tyshaia Earnest, a senior at Kent State University, is the first member of her family to graduate from college. With her graduation cancelled and her job offer rescinded, Tyshaia is worried about her future and looking to the Fashion Scholarship Fund for help: “I’m personally in a predicament where I feel lost. And it’s now, more than ever that I need the Fashion Scholarship Fund to be a rock and to be the source of light for my future.”
Eleanor Turner, 2008 Fashion Scholarship Fund recipient and 2019 Accelerator Grant winner is currently quarantining in Philadelphia and had to delay the launch of her company due to the pandemic. She reflects on how the FSF not only helped her get her current business venture off the ground, but how the FSF was there for her when she started her career back in 2008: “The FSF Scholarship was an amazing thing to have on the resume and they gave me an incredible network of people that helped me land a job.”
Brian Lucksinger is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and a 2018 Fashion Scholarship Fund recipient sheltering in place with his family in London. Brian was furloughed at the end of March and currently unsure if he will be laid off. “If I’m going to be laid off, I feel like I have a family in New York through the Fashion Scholarship Fund. The FSF looks out for all of us who are experiencing this.”
Sabrina Lee is a junior at the University of Delaware and a 2020 FSF Scholarship recipient who is currently quarantining with her parents in Long Island, NY. Sabrina was studying abroad in Italy and had to suddenly return home in February due to the coronavirus. Her dad was laid off and she has had to find a way to pay off the remaining study abroad tuition and program fee bills herself. Sabrina recently found out that her paid internship was cancelled. She has relied on the FSF for support during these challenging times: “I’m speechless when it comes to thinking about what the FSF has done for me. It really is a family. They are the ones that are always there for you.”
2008 Fashion Scholarship Fund Scholarship recipient Kenny McCullough shares his story while quarantining in his apartment in Brooklyn. The Fashion Scholarship Fund has become a support system for Kenny: “I call the FSF my new family because they are seriously a family for me. I'm truly blessed to have this circle and network that I've grown through the organization. It's one of the things that I see as sort of a stable piece of my life.”
The Fashion Scholarship Fund’s Executive Director, Peter Arnold, is sheltering in place with his family of four in Montclair, New Jersey and delivers a message about the importance, and relevance, of the FSF. As the country’s largest fashion education and workforce preparedness organization of its kind, the FSF has been providing scholarship, internship and employment opportunities to talented and deserving students for over 80 years: “We give more scholarships than any other organization in the country to students who are pursuing careers in the fashion industry and now, more than ever, we need to continue our mission.”
2015-2017 Fashion Scholarship Fund recipient Samantha Stern is featured in our next video in FSF's “Now, More Than Ever” campaign. Samantha is quarantining in her boyfriend’s home in Long Island. She was laid off three weeks ago and turned to the Fashion Scholarship Fund for guidance and support: “The FSF cares about their Scholars and Alumni so, so much. They treat you like a family member. Once you’re an FSF Scholar, you are connected to this organization for the rest of your life. They are my best shot at getting hired by another company.”
Michal MacMorran, a 2019 and 2020 Fashion Scholarship Fund recipient, is currently sheltering at home with her parents in Bloomington, Indiana. “I’m a small-town Indiana girl with big dreams of being a city girl in fashion.” Last summer, the Fashion Scholarship Fund supported Michal while she worked as an intern in NYC: “The FSF nurtures people like me to be the best version of themselves
The final video of FSF's Now, More Than Ever campaign features a compilation of the testimonials and personal stories of some of our courageous constituents. Ultimately, our series has been about how now, more than ever, the FSF community needs the continued support of the Fashion Scholarship Fund. Our mission -- to award scholarships, facilitate summer internships and full-time career placement and to provide mentoring and professional development -- is critical, Now, More Than Ever.
2014 Fashion Scholarship Fund Scholarship recipient from Kent State University, Olufisayo Akanni shares her story while quarantining in Brooklyn. Recently furloughed, Olufisayo isn’t receiving a paycheck, but she is remaining positive. The FSF provides comfort to Olufisayo: “One thing that I know is that I can look to the FSF -- they’ve always been a support system for me and my fellow Alumni.”
Lawren Cappelletti, 2018 FSF Scholarship recipient from Syracuse University, is currently quarantining at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Lawren shares, “If I want to reach out to the FSF and ask for advice, or mentorship, or even just kind of commiserate with my friends who are other FSF Scholars, this is the time to do it. I feel really grateful for having that FSF network."
This video features Kinley Lingenfelter, a junior at Thomas Jefferson University and a 2020 Fashion Scholarship Fund recipient. With the help of the FSF, Kinley received her dream summer internship, a combination of her two passions--golf and design--and she was headed to NYC this summer to work for a golf apparel company. Unfortunately, the internship was canceled. Kinley needs the FSF: “The Fashion Scholarship Fund is a huge scholarship for me. I plan to apply again this year. It could be the reason that I go to school next semester and it could be the reason why I graduate. It's really significant for my future.”
Mark Veksler is a sophomore at USC and a 2020 Fashion Scholarship Fund recipient currently sheltering in place with his family in Irvine, California. With FSF’s help, he received a summer internship at SAP –that opportunity is still moving forward, but due to the pandemic, he will be working from home. Mark is grateful to the FSF for pushing him to think creatively and offering him opportunities to network with industry leaders. He is optimistic about his future: “The Fashion Scholarship Fund gives me hope that there will be a better time ahead. Having this network to rely on has been really great.”
Michaela Knollman, a four time FSF Scholarship recipient -- 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, is a recent graduate of Colorado State University who was just hired by a small design company and is learning how to handle the struggles of living in a COVID-19 world. Michaela is grateful for having a job and grateful to the FSF for helping her get where she is today: “The FSF have opened so many doors. The opportunities I have had are because of the FSF.”