January 10, 2018 (New York, NY) – LIM College student and East Orange resident Mr. Muhammad Yalakidis, received a $5,000 YMA FSF Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship.
According to officials, Yalakidis was recognized at the FSF's annual Awards Gala on January 9 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.
Officials said at the event, the Fashion Scholarship Fund also honored several industry luminaries — including Katia Beauchamp, co-founder and CEO of Birchbox.
Muhammad is a senior majoring in Marketing with a concentration in Responsible Business Practices at LIM College, which is located in New York City and focuses exclusively on the study of business and fashion.
A 2014 graduate of Newark Arts High School Muhammad is the son of Terrance and Natasha Dargan.
The mission of the FSF is to advance the fashion industry by encouraging gifted and enterprising young people to pursue careers in design, merchandising, retailing and business. The FSF supports 60 colleges and universities nationwide that include both the top retail, design and fashion programs in the country and many of the most respected business schools.
In addition to LIM, participating schools include Barnard, Brandeis, Cornell, and Harvard.
Scholarships are awarded based entirely on merit, taking into consideration the applicants' GPAs, as well as the completion of an annual case study project.
This year applicants were asked to create an in-store experience for a retailer that would drive customers into that retailer's store according to officials.
In addition to the scholarship, funds, Muhammad was also invited to an exclusive internship/career fair the morning of the gala. That event was attended by the talent acquisition teams from more than 40 FSF sponsor companies, including Adidas, Kohl’s, and Steve Madden.
As part of his academic program at LIM College, Muhammad has already completed an internship at Liberty Fashion & Lifestyle Fairs, a menswear trade show company and is preparing to join the Spring/Summer 2018 team at Esquire Magazine.
He has secured a post graduate career opportunity at Toys 'R' Us with a planning and allocation function, located in Wayne, NJ.