If you think you’re doing something with your life—think again.
I don’t even know how to introduce this week’s Campus Celebrity, she’s done so much. It’s hard to sum up in a couple of sentences how inspiring and driven this girl is… so…
Meet the fabulous, creative, professional, extravagant, multilingual (like, 7 languages…), passionate, motivated, wonderful, Monica Bedi.
Oh, and I forgot to mention… she has hung out with Paris Hilton one-on-one her second time at fashion week, was given a birthday gift by Bill Cunningham, was smiled at by Anna Wintour, and has met a countless number of celebrities. But is it really that cool to meet a celebrity, when you’re basically a celebrity yourself?
Q: The basics: Name/Major/Minor/Hometown
A: Monica Bedi/Journalism/Digital Media (Forever Changing)/Westchester, New York
Q: What are your passions/hobbies?
A: Passions: clothes; hobbies: admiring, writing, and shopping for and wearing clothes
Q: What clubs are you involved in?
A: Central Florida Future, Society of Professional Journalists, Alpha Delta Pi Sorority!
Q: What was one of your major accomplishments?
A: Ah! I really don’t think I could decide, but it’s definitely a three-way tie between being nationally published in a magazine sold in Barnes and Nobles and Borders bookstores, being internationally published in Africa’s first in-flight entertainment magazine, and being a Teen Vogue It Girl and being selected to go to Teen Vogue Fashion University!
Q: What are any other major achievements of yours?
A: Time management – it’s a daily struggle, but each day when I get home and sip on green tea after juggling my social life, school, internships, and writing articles for all of the publications that I work for – it’s bliss.
Q: Tell me about everything you’ve done in the fashion/journalism industry.
A: Chronologically:
- Interned at Plaza Too Boutique
- Studied at LIM College
- Studied at Berkely College
- Interned with fashion designer Denise Proctor
- Interned at the Westchester Academy for Children
- Invited to a Westchester Magazine Party
- Became a Selected Delegate for Teen Vogue Fashion University
- Became the Fashion Columnist for my high school newspaper
- Attended New York Fashion Week
- Interned at the Record Review Newspaper
- Began freelancing for fashion sites and publications
- Invited to Miami Beach International Fashion Week
- Became nationally published in WHOA Magazine in Barnes and Nobles and Borders bookstores
- Became internationally published for Nomad Africa Magazine that is featured on flights flying into Africa
- Became the Central Florida Future’s Fashion Columnist
- Became a Selected Delegate of Fashion Campus NYC at Parsons the New School for Design
- Interned at Bentlee Wear
- Interned at the TRVST
- Attended New York Fashion Week
- Interning at Rent the Runway
- Interning at ShopAKIRA
- Became Campus Representative for Victoria’s Secret PINK
Q:Wow! How long is your resume?
A: Too Long: nine pages. You can see it here.
Q: Which organization that you have been/are a part of is your favorite?
A:Victoria’s Secret PINK is my favorite internship. PINK is one of my favorite brands, and I am extremely passionate about how fabulous their clothes are; this internship opportunity allows me to express that passion.
Q: How did you fall in love with fashion?
A: My obsession with fashion first started when my mom bought my first Barbie and proceeded to buy me one every Saturday (In total, I have a Barbie collection in my house with 2000+ Barbies….seriously). Then Polly Pockets entered my life, and from then on it was OVER – I was obsessed.
Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
A: New York City, single and fabulous – kind of like Carrie Bradshaw with her sex columns, but I’m more of a Samantha, so a Samantha that freelances for Elle, Vogue, or Marie Claire.
What did I tell you–is she fabulous or is she fabulous? To read more about how she first became involved in the fashion/journalism industry, what motivates her to succeed, and the inspiring story on how she met Bill Cunningham, go to the next page!
[pagebreak]
Q: How did you first become involved in the fashion/journalism industry?
A: Notably, it first started when I began interning at this high-end boutique in my hometown through an internship program at my high school. I was interested in retail management, as I wanted to own my own boutique at the time, so I interned there for 3 months (16 hours/week) when I was just 15 years old. Immediately, I was enamored by high-end designers and my love for fashion grew. After completing the internship, I realized that I didn’t want to own my own boutique but that I truly loved fashion. Thus, I wanted to immerse myself in the industry in any way possible. Therefore, I searched for fashion opportunities and enrolled in LIM College: The College for the Business of Fashion. At 15, I sacrificed my summer and went to fashion school to take pre-college courses.
Q: What are your plans for after college?
A: No idea yet; I’m considerably multifaceted when it comes to the fashion industry, as I’ve had experience in retail, visual merchandising, journalism, digital marketing, public relations, fashion design, page design and social media. Ideally, I’d love to freelance for a fashion magazine and work social media for a fashion company. However, I love working with Rent the Runway, Vitoria’s Secret PINK and ShopAkira, so if I had the opportunity, I’d definitely work post grad with either of those companies.
Q: What motivates you?
A: Success. I once met a man on the train, and he noticed that I was typing an article on my laptop and asked me why I was writing. When I explained that I was a freelancer, he proceeded to tell me that he was a freelancer for Vanity Fair as a travel and political writer. He mentioned that he writes five articles a week and receives $10,000 an article….enough said.
Q: Cool story of your fabulous life:
The Secret to Getting into New York Fashion Week (the first time):
It was 7 degrees out, and I stood alone in pure joy of the sights I was seeing. I was in New York City standing outside of the tents of New York Fashion Week amazed by people watching as celebrities and editors entered into the tents. Suddenly, an old man who traveled on a rusty bicycle and looked homeless approached me and asked me why I was in the cold. I greeted him with a smile and explained my love for fashion and that as silly as it sounded, being outside the tents made me happy. He didn’t say much but then scurried away and returned an hour later. I was still standing there with frostbite on my fingers and a nose that made me look like Rudolph, but with the largest smile on my face. Riding up to me, he handed me large sheets of paper and drove away. A person who was near me said, “How do you know him?” and I said, “He’s just some old man I was nice to earlier.” The person responded, “That’s Bill Cunningham and those sheets that you have are tickets to Fashion Week.” After that moment, a tear dropped from my eye and my wishes on all of my birthday candles had come true.