Student Experience: Jennifer Pevehouse

“Before going into fashion marketing, I spent three years running my own wedding planning business. It was fun, but I worked continually when everyone else was off — my weekends were booked up a year in advance. 

“I then started out in Fashion Marketing at Dallas College. I was always interested in fashion marketing and knew that’s what I wanted to do. When I was growing up, my mom had a friend who worked at the Apparel Mart, and I thought it was just such an interesting job.

“So I checked out colleges, and though I started somewhere else for a while, I realized that my credits weren’t going to transfer — I’d eventually like to earn a bachelor’s degree at TWU. Dallas College worked best with my schedule, was close to home and had a lot of courses in the curriculum. 

“The best part of the program was really my professors; they are so knowledgeable! And they follow up and stick with you — even once you’re out of their classroom, they’re there to help you and put you in contact with people out in the workforce. They’re genuinely concerned about you and want to make sure you’re applying the knowledge you learned in class. Marilyn Sullivan was a particular inspiration to me. She has a ton of experience out in the industry, and she would get us really motivated to go to functions and activities, to get out there and network. 

“In this job, you have to be able to multitask — there are always a bunch of different directions to go. It’s exciting, though. You have to constantly look for new ways to make the business better, to see what’s working out in the workplace, look at your competitors and make changes. You have to always be looking for the next best thing and be ready to go after it.” 

Jennifer Pevehouse started working for J.C. Penney Co. in August 2005 as a merchandise assistant; she completed the company’s merchandising training program, then was promoted to allocator (sending goods to each store) and then to her current position as assistant buyer in men’s accessories. She works from the company’s home office in Plano. Jennifer earned an associate degree in Fashion Marketing in 2007.

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