Hello my fellow fashion enthusiast friends! My name is Jessica Ibarreta and this is my second semester as a Style Guru representing the University of North Florida, and what a crazy, amazing ride it’s been!
So this is the story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down.
I first applied for this internship seeking to learn how to actually dress, learn editorial skills from the best and practice my writing skills since I missed the days of AP Lang oh so dearly. By no means did I consider myself a “guru” of style but the biggest fanatic of contemporary lines and L.A. independent labels. In addition, it was my ultimate career goal to pursue brand marketing for either an overall long-trusted drugstore brand or studio makeup line I admired and respected the most. But boy, my passions have grown and evolved exponentially within the past five months alone.
Alongside this internship, I was given the amazing opportunity to represent Luxottica brands for Northeast Florida, attend Teen Vogue Fashion University and become one of the newest campus representative interns for Victoria’s Secret PINK on campus. To add to this insanity, I was given the privilege to interview for some of my dream companies (and am still entirely thankful for failed interview experiences). After a roller coaster ride of figurative growing pains, several freelance gigs and studying and/or learning the ins and outs of such a diverse variety of brand campaigns (while merchandising and writing for CollegeFashionista), I cannot help but feel immensely grateful for this life-changing turn of events.
This semester, I will be reporting to you from none-other than NYC where I will be a merchandising/showroom intern and possibly fail at parkour-ing from great heights! Come explore and fangirl over NYC’s street style fashions with me every Monday!
Also, thank you to the CollegeFashionista team! You are the G.O.A.T.
