Marisa Kim, a design track student in FDM and the 2024-2025 president of the FDM student club, Stole Society (SS),  has been awarded the 2025 undergraduate Ka Hana Po'pkela award. Her outstanding leadership and compassionate nature has greatly nurtured the club, especially the SS officers and members who actively participated in club events throughout the year. Marisa is a student role-model, who supports others and who is dedicated to FDM and the Stole Society. FDM is happy to recognize her with this award!

By McCarthy Minako

Dr. Young Jin Bahng hosted the UH Retail Business Plan Competition at RISE on April 17, in collaboration with the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE).  This year, the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR; Dean Parwinder Grewal) provided $3,000, and the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS; Chair Thao Le) contributed $2,000, in student cash prizes, and PACE provided $1,000 for venue and food expenses. The five finalists gave presentations of their professional business plans based on innovative fashion/retail business ideas that they had created in the Fall 2024 FDM 437 Entrepreneurship in Retail course. The final judges were David Shepard (CEO of David Shepard Hawai‘i), Tina Yamaki (Director of Retail Merchants of Hawaii), Kathy Fugiwara (CEO of ExecHawaii), and Dr. Andy Reilly (Professor of FDM). We sincerely appreciate all of the support from the judges, funders, and FDM staff, students, and faculty. Once more, congrats to the achievers!

• First place: Leah Oto - Craft Cafe  $3,000
• Second Place: Claire LeCours - The Greenhouse  $1,500
• Third Place: Haley Locke - Aloha Blooms $500
• Two Fourth Places: Luphia Landry - Emerald Emelda (i-pad); Eva Robertson - Midnight Sun (i-pad)

By Young Jin Bahng

When Dr. Andy Reilly took students to the “Magic” fashion convention in Las Vegas this February, illustrator Trivia Hiller remembered him.  She recalled he’s the one with the college students.  “That’s really impressive,” Dr. Reilly said. “She drew us last year. So I think we made a good impression.”  

Five FDM students went with Dr. Reilly to “Magic,” one of the largest fashion conventions in the world.  Students saw and experienced the buying side of the industry and watched vendors showcase their upcoming collections while retailers placed orders.  

Dr. Reilly has been taking students to Magic for over 10 years and said he really enjoys helping students connect the classroom to the real world.  “Their faces light up as they realize all that it encompasses,” he said.  The students spent two days at the convention meeting and networking with potential employers and making connections.  This year’s convention featured talks on minority business owners and color forecasting. 

Grace Flagg was one of the students who attended.  She valued her experience and said, “It was an incredible opportunity to gain more insight on buying and sourcing within the fashion industry. I attended several seminars where industry experts shared their knowledge on the latest trends and best practices. It was fascinating to learn about the emerging technologies and sustainable practices that are shaping the future of fashion.”   

While there, students experienced some special events, like practicing their golf swings in a portable, digital golf pod, getting their make-up styled professionally, screen-printing their own t-shirts, and being illustrated by Trivia Hiller.  

By Andy Reilly​