The Alumni Files - Mya Randall
"My journey with MPorium began in the spring of my sophomore year when I joined the buying team. That semester, along with the Buying, Planning, and Allocation course, sparked my passion for the buying process. By the end of the year, I knew this was the path I wanted to pursue. In the spring of my junior year, I switched gears and joined the e-commerce team, where I gained a broader perspective on digital retail strategy. By senior year, I returned to buying and took on leadership roles: first as Student Lead of Buying in the fall, and then as Student Director of Buying in my final semester. I had the most incredible team and worked alongside amazing directors. It was truly the highlight of my college experience.
MPorium taught me so much, but the biggest personal takeaways were my growth in public speaking, leadership, and communication. Leading a team required strong organization and consistent collaboration, which I learned and developed over time. It was a big time commitment, but also was incredibly rewarding.
These skills prepared me well for life after graduation. In September, I started my role as an Assistant Buyer at Tommy Hilfiger on the Accessories Team. I already apply so much of what I learned at MPorium in my day-to-day work, especially Excel! I use it constantly to build reports, track best and worst sellers, write purchase orders, and create assortment plans. Even the terminology we used at MPorium, like Sell Thru, MSRP, Gross Margin, SKU, are part of my everyday vocabulary now.
One of my favorite MPorium memories was the Grand Opening of Collegiate Core last fall. Collegiate Core ended up being my favorite theme from all four semesters I was part of MPorium. It introduced an entirely new product assortment and demographic to the store."
