Studying in Style

Clarke Smith (BBA ’19) is a fashion-focused junior at the Wisconsin School of Business with aspirations to apply the marketing and management skills she learns at WSB in the fashion world.

“Everything I do is fashion-focused, whether it’s retail or designing,” says Smith. “I am interested in buying and merchandising, and fashion marketing for a big company—or even for myself if I own my own company.”

Smith, a Washington, D.C., native, says the main reason she was able to consider coming to UW–Madison was the financial support she received. Her scholarship, the Tuttle Family Great People Scholarship, supports scholars who would otherwise be unable to attend the university due to financial obstacles. The need-based program has provided more than 1,900 students with crucial financial assistance. It grants Smith partial tuition coverage. Smith was a direct-admit student to WSB and in her freshman year lived in the entrepreneurial learning community on campus. There, she found a sense of community among like-minded individuals.

“We had access to resources that a lot of freshmen didn’t even know existed,” she says. “We bonded because we all were into the same things.”

With the vast world of fashion ahead of her, Smith is grateful for the opportunities and industry insights WSB provides. She doesn’t yet have a specific job in mind, but is driven by her interest in how marketing can impact consumer decisions.

“My time at WSB has been extremely eye-opening,” she says. “The School gives us so many different options of where we can take our careers.”

Smith specifically appreciates WSB’s career readiness resources. She gained résumé-building and interviewing skills and says participating in mock and real interviews is second nature to her now. WSB’s collaborative culture makes an impact, too, she says.

“We all push each other and hold each other to high standards,” she says. “We encourage each other to do great things.”

Smith recognizes that all of these resources wouldn’t have been available to her without scholarship support, and she values the powerful impact a culture of giving back can have.

“Giving back is so important because everyone isn’t always allowed the same opportunities or resources,” she says. “I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without people in my past and my present sharing their skills and knowledge with me.

“It means a lot,” she says. “I’ve learned that knowledge is power, and that the more you know, the more you can do.”