Wake Forest is only notorious for its driven students, endless hours of work outside of class, and always-packed library. But it’s also known for its beauty – the beautiful campus, beautiful weather and beautiful people. Chelsea Dougherty is no exception.
A Palm City, Florida native, Chelsea is the epitome of a classic Wake Forest student. She is accomplished, stylish, bright, involved and determined. She is a Business and Enterprise Management major (recently accepted to Calloway – yay!) with minors in Entrepreneurship and Psychology. Although only a sophomore, Chelsea has already made a name for herself on campus and is someone who should be on your radar.
But she’s not all business. Chelsea’s infectious smile and warm laugh make her a person to cuddle and watch Hulu with. Ambitious and fun? Yep, she’s the real deal. Girlfriend’s got a resume to kill for.
As a freshman, Chelsea served as the Entrepreneurship Society president during the 2010 calendar year. Additionally, she served as the Panhellenic Women’s Programming Chair, planning the highly successful Women’s Leadership Conference, the All-Greek barbecue and various other All-Greek events. Just last month, she co-chaired the Wake Forest Escalator Contest, a professional business pitch competition held in national and global regard. And after spring break, Chelsea will escort the Escalator competition winner to the Elevator competition – a higher stakes version of the Escalator. In short: Chelsea has found success in the business world of Wake.
But Chelsea’s interests extend beyond any kind of successful business. Chelsea is stylish. From head to toe, Chelsea always looks put together and composed – not an easy task for someone so involved! But Chelsea’s composure and pride in her appearance do not stem from vanity; rather, she has a deep-seated passion for fashion and beauty.
Even as a little girl, Chelsea took extreme care in choosing her outfits. As a second grader, Chelsea strictly wore black clothes with chunky black boots (think Spice Girls). She then transitioned into the uber-preppy Florida tween, even eliminating jeans from her wardrobe. Her style has continued to evolve, but Chelsea now sports a much more comfortable style: classic pieces with a bohemian-funky twist.
With fashion as one of her primary interests, Chelsea obviously found an outlet on campus to make her adorable and creative ideas come to life. What could be better than designing sorority tees? Chelsea applied to be the Kappa Delta Licensing Chair, a position she now shares with another sister. Licensing is the perfect job for her, Chelsea says, because it combines her two loves: business and fashion.
Sorority licensing chair is certainly not Chelsea’s first successful business venture. At only thirteen, Chelsea launched her first line of preppy ribbon accessories, totes, towel wraps and key chains, aptly titled “Sew Preppy.” As a rambunctious sixth grader, Chelsea began sewing in Home Ec. and caught the design fever. Her eighth grade graduation present was a sewing machine – hook, line, and sinker, a business was officially born.
The height of her success came in the summers of 2007 and 2008 when she served as a vendor at lacrosse tournaments and shows across the lower eastern states. The business was put on the backburner during her college years, but Big/Little revelation week for Kappa Delta was rumored to be very preppy, so perhaps Sew Preppy will rise again. When asked about a possible rebirth of the super preppy style, Chelsea says she wants “to experiment with more grown up taste as I get older – although I will always love a good monogram!”
For now, Chelsea is looking forward to new upcoming projects. She will spend the summer living in New York City as an intern with the Licensing Department of Tommy Hilfiger (yes, the real Tommy Hilfiger), living the life of a young fashionista in the making. This fall, Chelsea will take her talents abroad for a semester. When asked where, she gushed, “Hopefully NYU Florence – the birthplace of Ferragamo and Gucci!”
Ultimately, Chelsea hopes to work as a buyer or planner for a major department store or brand, or perhaps exploring the always growing world of “green” textiles – according to Chelsea, “green” is very trendy right now.
Chelsea has big dreams in competitive fields, and her passion will take her a long way. Though passion is hard to read on paper, it’s more than palpable in person. She exudes confidence in her ideas and simply loves the things that she has surrounded herself with — be it the next great business mind or a fabulous accessory. With an obvious love for fashion like Chelsea’s, it’s impossible to see her headed in any other direction. She expertly balances her drive with a warm and comfortable softness that makes her effortlessly confident and truly inspiring.
Wanna know more, collegiettes™? Here’s a sample of Chelsea’s Favorites:
Favorite website: “My blog! A shameless plug, but true – I love it. Big Dreams and Splendid Themes (dreamsandthemes.tumblr.com). I also cannot get enough of the New York Times Style section. I love it because it has art, fashion, culture … and weddings and celebrations!”
Accessory you can’t live without: “I have two: a great handbag and a fun cocktail ring.”
Dream city: “I don’t want to limit myself yet – ask me again next spring!”
Pandora station: “Basia Bulat – Canadian and loving it! And John Legend – everyone could use a little soul.”
One item that will never go out of style: “A great tuxedo vest – dress it up or dress it down, it always adds polish to an outfit.”