Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Emily Haas always mused about entering the realm of business, but never quite knew what that would look like for her. “I attended an open house event [at Stevenson] where they broke us out by major, and I decided to go to the Fashion Merchandising presentation,” Emily recalls. “After that event, I knew that’s what I wanted to study.”
Emily was aware that many fashion programs were in cities, but at the time she wanted a campus experience, and she liked that Stevenson was able to provide that on top of new and modern amenities. During her time at SU, she kept her hands full as a student-athlete on the Women’s Golf team, Vice President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, a tutor in the Academic Link, a Student Ambassador for Admissions, and a member of the Fashion Apparel and Design Club.
Recognized with multiple awards as part of Stevenson’s Women’s Golf, Emily remarks, “I really loved the NCAA Division III athletic experience at Stevenson. The facilities were as good as many Division I schools—the MAC was competitive and Piney Branch Golf Club is the best. The Women’s Golf team went to the NCAA tournament twice throughout my tenure, which would have been an unlikely experience anywhere else.”
Emily’s favorite aspect of studying Fashion at Stevenson was that she was able to get a specialized degree yet have a solid foundation of transferrable skills that the School of Business and Leadership provides. “I learned fundamentals of marketing, management, finance, and accounting on top of my fashion-industry-specific courses, which made me a more malleable, well-rounded candidate by the time I entered the workforce,” she says.
For two summers between her semesters at Stevenson, Emily interned in the Green Valley Country Club Pro Shop, helping merchandise the shop, buying product for the future seasons, and coordinating tournaments and tee times. She also interned with the Maryland Design Center & Peyton Home, an interior design company local to campus where she organized fabric swatches and assisted clients.
Furthermore, Emily had the opportunity to attend Magic Market Week in Las Vegas, Nevada on two separate occasions with the Fashion Merchandising department. “It’s the industry’s largest tradeshow, which we were able to use as a giant networking event and talk with buyers, account executives, merchants, and other industry experts,” says Emily.
After graduation, she moved to New York City for her first job at rag & bone, a contemporary fashion company founded in the early 2000s. During her time there, she touched every single product category, starting as a Merchandise Assistant on the women’s buying team, then becoming an Assistant Buyer/Merchant on the men’s team.
“In these roles, I supported upper management with sales analysis, product strategy, and assortment development. Then, I moved to the domestic wholesale team as an Assistant Account Executive where I sold footwear, handbags, and accessories to companies like Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, etc. At the end of my time there, I was managing over 50 specialty boutique accounts, too.”
Later, Emily left rag & bone to pursue a completely different career path in the golf industry as a Project Analyst, which is what she still does today, working for a holding company called 8AM Golf, which manages assets across the industry like GOLF Magazine, Nicklaus Companies, True Spec Golf, Miura, Golf Logix, Chirp, and Fairway Jockey. “I oversee projects and initiatives that span across the companies within our portfolio and, because of my fashion background, write a lot of the commerce content for GOLF.com,” Emily says.
In addition to her Fashion Merchandising major, Emily gained a competitive edge by taking on a double minor in Fashion Design and Economics. “My Fashion Design minor helped me better communicate with my product development and design counterparts during my time at rag & bone. My Economics minor has been super helpful for life in general as I keep up with politics, work to pay off my student loans, or converse with friends in other industries,” she expresses.
