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FDSA President: Shannon Gillespie

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Marissa Russo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MSU chapter.

Name: Shannon Gillespie

Year: Senior

Major: Apparel & Textile Design

Hometown: Chesterfield, MI

Organization: Fashion Design Student Association

Your Role: Co-President

Shannon Gillespie, middle, with her models from the 2013 ATD Fashion Show.

What is FDSA?  

The Fashion Design Student Association is an organization that unites people interested in fashion. It is a club that helps students get to know each other and network with professionals in the fashion industry. We host career and fashion workshops, events, field trips, and competitions. 

 

What made you get involved with FDSA?

I joined the club in the Fall of 2011, when it was just getting started. I joined because I thought it would be a great idea to meet other people in my major and to learn about the industry from older students with experience.

 

What responsibilities come with your position?

With my co-president, Krity Shresta, our responsibility is to plan and run all general and board meetings. I’m also a liaison between the board and our advisor, Dr. Theresa Winge. I’m responsible for making sure that e-board members are completing their tasks, and making sure that our events run smoothly. But most importantly, I need to get to know the members of the club and make sure that they are gaining something by being in FDSA.

 

3 Reason you love FDSA:

– Getting to know the e-board and other FDSA members

– Helping younger students get involved in the industry

– LOVE promoting fashion throughout the MSU community

 

Favorite FDSA event during the year? 

Our annual trip to Chicago in the Fall! 

 

Other campus activities you’re involved with:

Member of Sigma Kappa Sorority

 

Favorite spot on Campus:

UPLA, Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, also known as the fashion design building. It’s a love/hate relationship with that place. I spend so much time there, but over the past few years it’s become my second home.

 

Your typical Saturday night? 

If I’m not in the studio, or watching football. My typical Saturday night would consist of going out in East Lansing with my girlfriends.

 

Fun fact about yourself:

I love watching Pretty Little Liars!

 

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
 Marissa Russo is a senior at Michigan State University studying  journalism with a concentration in apparel and textile design. Her love for writing coincides with her love for design, and after graduation she hopes to work at a publication that allows her to do both. Marissa is a co-campus correspondent for Her Campus MSU. Follow her on Instagram: marissrusso and Twitter: @marissrusso