(Photo by Kelly Trom)
Kelly Trom
ktrom@mustangdaily.net
Students strutted down the catwalk sporting blazers, appropriately sized high heels and ties in Chumash Auditorium this past Friday to raise money for a scholarship for a future Hispanic Business Student Association (HBSA) member.
This is the first annual business fashion show to be organized by HBSA. The show’s concept was to help students who attended prepare for the work world and interviews by seeing in person appropriate outfit options. The idea was originally brought to the table by construction management junior and HBSA vice president Eric Sanchez. Sanchez was inspired by his job at Career Services that held an event similar to the one HBSA put on.
“Everyone should know these things,” Sanchez said. “Everyone one day is going to go into the business world and get an interview.”
The fashion show had two parts to it to mimic different work environments. Part one showcased students who dressed business professional. The second category was business casual.
The goal of the event was to help students decide what to wear to interviews and then hopefully to the jobs they get after they have made that first great impression.
There was a $2 entrance fee, with all profit going to a scholarship that the HBSA will award to a future member of the club next year at the end of year banquet. The standards used to decide what member will receive the scholarship are still being discussed and will be announced at the beginning of next year.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” HBSA president and business administration junior Daniela Pena said. “It’s our first year so we knew there were going to be some rough spots and we weren’t sure if people were actually going to come.”
The hope is that the event will become an annual occurrence with the experience gained from this year, Pena said.
The models in the show were members of the club as well as student-athletes and members of other business clubs on campus. The four judges on the panel were all student athletes selected by the HBSA members.
The winners — two from each category — were Carina Mercado, Korben Boaz, Doris Cheung and Adam Siddiq. They won giftcards to Express, Gap, Banana Republic and Macy’s.
“The best part was that my friends were on the seats kind of egging me on,” event model and business administration sophomore Omar Garcia-Gomez said.
Not only was the experience fun, but also educational, Garcia-Gomez said.
“I feel like this is a good way to showcase what it is that people should wear for interviews and at work,” Garcia-Gomez said. “I know that if you look up information online, sometimes it is a little vague.”
The emcee of the event was business librarian Mark Bieraugel. Sporting a plaid blazer and patterned orange and blue shirt, Bieraugel admitted that his outfit was not business professional. However, it didn’t stop Bieraugel from giving some spot-on advice and highlighting where the model’s professional outfits were successful. Bieraugel was selected because he was a previous speaker at an HBSA meeting before.
“He is the most outgoing speaker that we have had all year,” Sanchez said. “We knew we wanted a fun script and that he was one that could add to that script.”
HBSA puts on many interactive workshops and hosts many business-related speakers throughout the year.
“We have had big presenters come in to talk to the club like Apple, Deloitte and Ernst Young,” journalism sophomore and marketing chair for the fashion show Rosie Guzman said. “To have the opportunity to interact with big business professionals is what I feel is HSBA’s biggest strong point.”
HSBA, while small, is an inclusive club.
“It is not just for Hispanic students or business students,” Sanchez said. “It is to get someone ready for the professional world. There is kind of a family feeling.”