Hi! My name is Serena Palleschi. I’m 19 years old and go to The University of Rhode Island where I study Textiles, Merchandising and Design. I work at Nordstrom in the men’s shoe department. Exactly one year ago, I was a Pre-law and Political Science double-major at Roger William’s University. Growing up I remember always hearing stories about how “grown-ups” figured out what they wanted to do with their lives. I never thought I would have one of those interesting stories but I can proudly now say that I do.
Last summer I had no job lined up. Throughout high school I worked at a pizza place. I had one main criteria for my new job: I wanted to be able to dress up. No pony tails and sneakers. I wanted necklaces and flats. My mom suggested retail, I was unsure. Luckily I listened and applied at Nordstrom. I went for the interview and was still unsure, especially when I was asked to sell the manager the ring on my hand. I knew I was no Jordan Belfort and thought I had no chance. Miraculously the manager loved my sales pitch. I was hired in the trend accessories department.
Now this is where my story gets juicy. The store has visuals team however, my department was separate. Whoever worked there would display the merchandise. I was not confident about this. I loved doing it; I re-arranged the merchandise daily. I started to get alot of compliments. One customer’s compliment was the most important, Elizabeth’s. She was very into art and looked around at the displays, she asked “who did these displays, the guy who usually does them on visuals?”. I thought she was implying I did a bad job. I replied “I did them” and when she asked “what qualifications do you have” I replied “none they told me it was part of my job”. She went on to tell me that I have a real knack. She asked what I was going to school for, and immediately told me I was in the wrong field and would need to pick a new major, related to my “talent”. She later returned that day saying she knew I needed to change my major. It was just a matter of time before I realized I was in the wrong field. From that day, I looked into transferring to URI, continued to work at Nordstrom, and now realize how great of a choice I made.
Now that you know my story you will know how happy I am to be doing something that I love! This blogging internship is also something I truly love and am so excited to do. It still feels so surreal to me, I learn about the fashion world in school and can blog about my love for fashion? It’s too perfect and I love every second of it. I encourage all of you to also live out your dreams and do what you love.
I look forward to writing all summer.
