Hi All! It’s been a while!
When I started this blog I had so many ideas with not a ton of time to execute them. Now, I have transitioned from being a student to being a working woman I have hit a groove in my routine where I have found some time to write.
So, as you can tell from the title, today I am going to tell you all about my trip to New York City I took in January with my friend Hailey to attend the NRF Student Program!
“Spectacular achievements are often proceeded by unspectacular preparation.”
So, What is the NRF Student Program?
The NRF, or National Retail Federation is the worlds largest retail trade association stating:
“Our mission is to advance the interests of the retail industry through advocacy, communications and education.”
You can read more about the NRF and what they do here.
Every year they put on a trade show in New York City for industry professionals called “Retail’s Big Show”. The weekend before that kicks off, they first host the Student Program. The Student Program brings in top executives from all facets of the retail industry to share their tips and tricks for how they made it. It is a unique experience in that while there are outstanding keynote speakers and panels, there is also a segment where dozens of professionals take the time to come and sit at your table. Giving you the opportunity to ask them about their individual situation and go deeper – as deep as 15 minutes can allow – then you get a new person’s brain to pick! I met representatives from the likes of Urban Outfitters and Dillard’s, to an entrepreneur growing her shoe insole company. The conversations with these people were invaluable in addition to the amazing presentations given from the stage. The weekend is completed with a career fair, but more on that later. You can learn more about the student program, recaps from past years, and how you can attend in 2019 here!
“Think beyond your current role and to your next role.”
New York: Getting, Staying, and Eating
When I learned about the conference, I knew the biggest hurdles were going to be, “How will I get there?”, and, “Where will I stay?” and from my parent’s perspective, “Who is going with you?” I was thrilled when my best friend Hailey was able to convince her parents to let her go! From there we were very blessed at how things fell into place. It turned out that family friends of Hailey’s had a time share at the Wyndham Midtown 45 that they were able to set us up in FOR FREE.
Check out that view!
The folks at the Wyndham were wonderful, from letting us check in a bit early, to letting us choose what floor we wanted to be on. I think Hailey and I both decided that if we were ever in a position to have a timeshare with them, we would! Lol.
I happened to score a major deal with some credit card points for my flight. It cost me a grand total of $11.30 to fly from Charlotte, NC to New York City!
As far as grub, I made somewhat of a plan ahead of time, looking into what were somethings that were local, or not available back home at least. Now, we are college kids on a budget, so we weren’t looking to get too fancy with out meals. We hit up a Shake Shack for lunch the first day, it is my favorite fast-casual burger chain. I believe it is leaps and bounds ahead of In-N-Out, sorry.
We went to Selena Rosa for dinner, and to be honest, it was just okay with me, I probably wouldn’t go again. Lunch was provided by the NRF in cute deli boxes both Friday and Saturday, so we didn’t need to find anything on those days. Friday night we ended up at a local, hole in the wall, pizza place that was as enjoyable as it was greasy! The real star of our meals to me was a tiny, take-out sushi place that had 4 tables set up inside so we decided to eat in there. It was dark, it was cramped, but my (admittedly basic) California roll was yummy and couldn’t be beat at $4 a roll!
“Because you know nothing, You do everything differently.”
What I Wore
On to the most exciting part: what did I wear while I was there? I’ll admit I was apprehensive packing for NYC in January when I am so used to the mild South Carolina winters. The name of the game was layer, layer, layer.
Day 1: Traveling and Exploring: I chose leather leggings, a black and white striped, off the shoulder top, a statement making Gucci Belt, and black booties for our first day in the city.
Of course with the weather I needed a warmth layer so I topped my outfit with a charcoal wool coat, furry white ear warmer, and Ted Baker gloves that were gifted to me by my thoughtful boyfriend.
Day 2: First day of the conference: This was my “fun day” where I incorporated more color into my business casual look.
I went with a tweed skirt from Loft, and found a great matching pink sweater from Nordstrom rack the night before we left! I paired black Steve Madden over-the-knee boots with this look that was heavily inspired by @themrsgibby on instagram, and believe it or not I am wearing leggings with this outfit as well!
Later that night, Kohl’s sponsored a private skating event at Rockefeller center, so we ran back to the hotel and did an outfit change. It was oddly warm that evening, being in the mid-50’s.
I was able to wear jeans an a sweater without heavy layering. I only lasted about 30 seconds on the ice skates. Hey, it’s not a regular past-time in South Carolina.
Day 3: Second day of the conference, including the career fair. This day was my more serious day, consisting of black slacks, a black blazer, and a cream colored sweater. In my mind I knew I wanted to wear a neck scarf but didn’t have one until I bought it the night before, after ice skating, at Kate Spade.
I unfortunately don’t have any photos from the last day, but I ended up wearing the same outfit from day 3 as I was invited to an interview from the career fair. As you may be able to tell, I didn’t quite have the blog in mind when taking this photos. #Oops I am working to do better!
“Advocate for yourself.”
New Opportunities
During the round table conversations, I had the pleasure of meeting Rochelle Brown from Dillard’s department store. Her story and enthusiasm really spoke to me and piqued my interest it going to their table during the career fair. I was able to speak with Rochelle again at the Dillard’s table, and because there was such a long line behind me, she invited me back for more information on their Manager in Training program the next day. Sunday, I had the chance to meet Kathy Payne, who is in charge of executive development for Dillard’s in Texas and the Gulf coast regions. I received a lot of information and became excited about the opportunities that they had. Kathy and I kept in touch, one phone call lead to another, that lead to a phone interview, and in early March I was offered a spot for their Management in Training (MIT) program in Dallas, TX! As it is clearly May, I am writing this post from Texas and will be making more posts on my moving and working here.
I am so excited at this still relatively new chapter of my life. I am already enjoying the Dallas area so much! Be sure to stick around to hear my thoughts, share in my experiences, and of course, see what I am wearing!
Thanks for reading! Xoxo,
