Sharon George ’25: Balancing Creativity and Business
During her time at NC State, she’s had countless meaningful experiences and prepared for her merchandising career.
Before she walked across the stage at Reynolds Coliseum, Sharon George had already interned for Drunk Elephant and landed a full-time position at Kohl’s headquarters. When she first arrived at NC State four years ago, however, she had no idea these kinds of opportunities were even possible.
“I started out in the business marketing program. My roommate was in brand management and marketing, and she was telling me about all her classes. I was so into the creative side of marketing and I had a love for fashion, but I had no idea I could mix those two things,” George says. “I actually changed to brand, but then my friend started telling me about all the creative, hands-on experience she gets in fashion development and product management [FDPM]. So I ended up applying to the FDPM program. I’ve just loved all the different experiences that you get on both the business side and the creative side.”
Ultimately, the Wilson College’s network helped her get her foot in the door for her first internship on Drunk Elephant’s social media team.
“I connected with an FDPM alum who works in social media at Drunk Elephant. She really loved mentoring, so she would meet with me to just give advice and talk about her experience. A few months later, she reached out to me and let me know that they were hiring for an internship and that I should apply.”
A year later, George connected with Kohl’s during one of the college’s career fairs. She spent the summer on the home furnishing merchandising team learning from a dedicated mentor, analyzing product performance and exploring Milwaukee with her fellow interns, many of whom were also Wilson College students.
When the company offered her a full-time merchandising assistant position, she knew it would be the right fit.
“Before my internship with Kohl’s started, I didn’t know if I would like merchandising, but I actually ended up really enjoying it. I like that the merchandising team travels a lot and talks to so many different people. There’s definitely a lot of analysis, but there’s also the creative side of picking out what is next and the colors.”
On campus, she says time on Platform’s digital and modeling teams allowed her to develop her creative skillset. She also found community and connection with Phi Psi, NC State’s co-ed textile fraternity, and Nazaare, NC State’s Bollywood fusion dance team.
“I grew up dancing a ton, so I wanted to keep that in my life. It was such a big moment for me in terms of creating connections at NC State and making the best relationships.”
Who has impacted you most during your time at NC State?
Honestly, Teju Lankipalli. She was my “big” at Phi Psi and the person who convinced me to switch to FDPM. She also interned with me at Kohl’s.
She pushed me so hard, helped me with everything and has just always been there for me. Anytime I had a question she’s the first person I would go to. I would be lost without her.
What was your favorite class?
FTM 415. It’s the capstone course for FDPM, and we get to work in groups with full creative freedom to design a collection from start to finish.
I’ve been able to see every single aspect of creating a product line, from researching our target consumer to designing and marketing the products.
I think that going into merchandising, it’s going to be really beneficial that I know every detail and all the work that goes into the whole product development process. Even though I won’t be doing every single step, I’ll start my job knowing every single step.
What has been your most memorable experience?
It was definitely studying abroad. I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, the summer after my sophomore year, and that was definitely a huge turning point for me in terms of wanting to be more independent.
It really taught me how to put myself out there because I went there knowing no one. I had completely random roommates and we ended up just exploring so much of Italy together.
I grew so much there, and it really showed me that I want to travel and experience so many new places and cultures.
What advice would you give your first-year self?
Don’t stress too much about the little things. I think I put so much focus on every little thing I was doing, and I would burn myself out because I put so much work into it. I’m such a perfectionist.
Half the things I did my first year didn’t work out, but they all led me to where I am now.
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