Photo Courtesy of Kelsei Zliczewski '23
Business student’s cosmetic case study wins fashion competition.
Lehigh Business marketing major Kelsei Zliczewski ’23 was awarded a $7,500 scholarship from the Fashion Scholarship Fund last December as one of the winners of the 2022 Fashion Scholarship Fund’s Case Study Scholarship Challenge.
The FSF awards over $1 million in scholarships each year to U.S. college students‚ helping students enter and succeed in all sectors of the fashion industry: design‚ merchandising‚ marketing analytics and supply chain‚ according to its website.
Zliczewski‚ from Berlin‚ CT‚ was the first-ever winner in the marketing analytics category from Lehigh University‚ since the category was added to the competition three years ago. The 17-page slide deck case study she submitted was about cosmetic company Glossier. Founded in 2014 as an online-only company‚ Glossier is known for its beauty content and robust customer community.
“I loved the products‚ I was already using them‚ and their marketing strategies were strong‚” says Zliczewski‚ “but I wanted to take on the challenge of making the company even stronger.”
The competition attracted 459 applicants from 66 universities. Only 123 applicants were selected for $7‚500 scholarships. FSF also offers internships‚ mentorships‚ as well as talent acquisition‚ educational and networking events.
Zliczewski came to Lehigh as an environmental science major and switched to the College of Business at the end of her freshman year. Soon after she declared as a marketing major Zliczewski says she entered the FSF competition with the idea that even if she didn’t win‚ it would be a great experience and something to talk about on job interviews.
“One of the most important things Lehigh has taught me‚ so far‚ is to take advantage of what you’re presented with and fully commit to it until you’re happy with the end result‚” she says.
This past spring‚ she studied in Florence‚ Italy‚ and was one of six finalists in the Milk Makeup Visionary Fund Scholarship Competition‚ creating a new marketing approach for the cosmetic and skin care brand. Zliczewski interned during the summer with women’s health care products company CooperSurgical. She plans to enter the FSF competition again this fall.