Junior gets hands on experience through part time job

By Kayla Ward | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Christine Young, a Flagler College junior, finds herself juggling school and work as she assists with the planning of various events for Go Fish, a clothing franchise in downtown St. Augustine.

Young has been a part-time sales associate of Go Fish for a year. Go Fish is a missions-based fair trade company that sells clothing, accessories and home décor among other items made by artisans in developing countries. The store and its employees get involved with the community through different events.

As a public relations major, Young put her communication skills to good use when she helped set up a booth with merchandise from Go Fish at Pink up the Pace, an annual 5K race held in St. Augustine. During the registration of Pink up the Pace, which helps raise money for breast cancer research, local businesses represented themselves as sponsors of the event by setting up booths at the University of St. Augustine.

“I set up the booth for Go Fish, who was a sponsor for Pink up the Pace, and had jewelry, purses and Go Fish t-shirts laid out for people to purchase while they registered for [the race],” Young said.

Last weekend Young represented Go Fish by helping out backstage at a fashion show fundraiser held by the Altrusa Club. The Altrusa Club is an international community service organization run by volunteers who dedicate their time to the betterment of the community. Proceeds from the Altrusa Club’s annual fashion show went towards a scholarship for a First Coast Technical College student.

The fashion show featured outfits, shoes and accessories from Go Fish and H.W Davis Clothing Company, also located in downtown St. Augustine. Young was in charge of dressing the models in clothes from Go Fish.

“I made sure each model had two outfits, shoes and accessories from Go Fish. I was backstage in the dressing room making sure the models were ready to walk out,” she said.

According to Young, the fashion show was a great success. She compared her work experience to something she would see in a movie. “It was exhilarating because I saw how real it was after running around backstage making sure each model was ready to go all by myself,” she said.

Young, a full time student at Flagler, was excited to be able to do some significant work. The display booth at Pink up the Pace and the Altrusa Club fashion show gave the store some great publicity. Young’s boss at Go Fish asked her to take on these tasks to help give her some real world experience in her field of study.

“[My boss] is like my mentor teaching me about real world communications. Like what we study in text books, but it’s real life,” she said.

She sometimes found it overwhelming to balance her classes with her work duties. It helped for her to focus on one thing at a time. “I scheduled work around my classes. I keep school at school and work at work,” she said.

Although Young does not want to work in the fashion industry, she said she loves working with people. She wants to pursue a career in the public relations industry.

“I haven’t found my niche yet, but I love the field of [PR] so I’m leaving all doors and windows open,” she said.

Go Fish plans to increase their involvement with the community in future events. Young is excited to begin working on her next task and to keep gaining experience.