This award was announced at the NRF Foundation Honors Gala, held on January 15 at New York's Marriott Marquis. Originally from Arlington, Texas, Megan is the second ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß¹Û¿´Èë¿Ú student in five years to win this prestigious national contest.
The NRF Foundation Next Generation Scholarship is the top honor for students representing the NRF's 100-plus member schools who are pursuing retail careers. The opportunity was created for students who have demonstrated leadership skills, previous retail experience, and a drive to make an impact in the industry.
This year's competition centered around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Participants were tasked with identifying a retailer for whom to propose a new CSR initiative. In the semifinals, the challenge became developing a sustainability initiative specifically for Nordstrom. The final round consisted of interviews with senior retail executives and NRF representatives.
, Megan and her fellow finalists discuss what the Next Generation Scholarship program means to them and speak about their career goals in business and retail.
"This competition is a semester-long, retail centric business project that prepares students for a career," said LIM professor Marla Greene, advisor for the school's chapter of the NRF Student Association. "Megan made the top-10 in this contest last year, as a junior. Persistence pays off. Megan did it again, and this was her reward."
Megan is also part of ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß¹Û¿´Èë¿Ú’s Fashion Scholars program, which aims to enrich the academic experience by creating new pathways for network building and career development, in addition to offering enhanced one-on-one mentoring. Fellow LIM Fashion Scholar Clay Lute also reached the contest's final round this year, marking the first time the College has had two representatives among the finalist group.
