Montclair State University Student, Sydney Huttemann, attends National Retail Federation Student Conference

The NRF Foundation student Program fosters opportunities to connect with some of the world’s biggest retail brands. This year’s event was from January 12th through January 14th, 2024 in New York City. It was three days packed with tours, talks, insightful sessions with experienced retail leaders, engaging breakout sessions, executive mentoring, and career recruiting opportunities.

This year 1,125 students, 145 educators, 112 mentors, 40 speakers and over 150 recruiters attended the program at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. And a total of 34 companies sponsored the event. The program kicked off on Friday with a robust schedule featuring some of retail’s brightest leaders sharing insights and knowledge with the next generation of talent. Sessions explored various themes touching on the importance of authenticity, agility, flexibility, and grit.

“As an apparel designer, I was aware of the national retail Federation trade show, which is called the Big Show. I believe that this conference is a great opportunity for all Fashion students to have firsthand interactions with prospective employers and internship opportunities. Students were able to interact with their peers and compare experiences as Fashion students. As an educator, the workshop was enlightening and informed us of current internship and early executive programs are opportunities available for our students as they transition into the industry. Montclair State was fortunate enough to have two of our students selected for scholarships to attend the conference. It was a great experience for all.” – Sherita Cuffee

The FADM faculty recommended students who qualified for the scholarship based on their GPA. Two students were awarded scholarships to help cover costs of attending the conference. The students are senior Sydney Huttemann who was awarded the Bright Future Scholarship and Sophomore Amy Serna who was awarded the Rising Star Scholarship.