Maryana Hrynyuk

When you were a student, did you do anything outside of school to build skills or get knowledge that has helped your career?

I interned my sophomore year (for FREE!) to help secure a paid internship my junior year. I highly recommend taking on as many internship opportunities as you can (different industries, different type of roles), to figure out what you're most interested in. I also worked part-time all throughout college working in retail as a sales associate, which has helped me shift to the retail/fashion industry.

What is the one piece of career advice you wish someone gave you when you were younger?

Learn how to code, NETWORK, and don't compare yourself to others.

What is the biggest challenge you had to overcome to get to where you are now professionally? How did you overcome it?

Transitioning from financial services to the fashion industry was one of my biggest challenges. Knowing what I wanted and not giving up on it is what has helped me make that shift. Persistence is key.

How did you pick your career? Did you know all along?

I was a finance major and interned at J.P. Morgan which led to a full-time opportunity. At the time, this was a big goal of mine, but I didn't see myself in the industry long term. It's important look at your manager, your manager's manager or anybody higher up and think if this is something you would like to do one day. I never really knew what my career was going to be, but I had a gut feeling because retail/fashion is something I've always been naturally curious about.