Four UNT students win awards from nation's largest fashion scholarship fund

Thursday, January 4, 2018 - 21:07

DENTON (UNT), Texas — The YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund is awarding four University of North Texas students with $5,000 prizes. The UNT students are among more than 200 college students to receive money from the fund.

The winners include Andrew Bridges, a senior from Sanger, Texas, majoring in merchandising with a marketing minor; Ruthanna Harry, a senior from Garland, Texas, majoring in merchandising and digital retailing with a minor in marketing; Maia Wilson, a senior from Frisco, Texas, majoring in merchandising and digital retailing with a minor in business; and Asia Montague, a senior from New Orleans majoring in fashion design. Montague also won this award last year.

“I am honored to receive this scholarship award, especially with the opportunity to meet like-minded, retail-enthusiastic individuals from around the country and connect with professionals from the top retailers,” Wilson said.

The YMA FSF awards the largest single sum of money and the largest total number of scholarships in the fashion community to future fashion leaders, according the organization’s website. UNT students began participating in the competition in UNT students began participating in the competition in the 2016-17 academic year.    

“The Fashion Scholarship Fund member schools are a portfolio of the top retail, design and fashion programs in the country,” said Laura Storm, a lecturer in UNT’s Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing. “It is an honor for UNT to be an eligible member school. “This award showcases the talent of our amazing students and the strength of our Merchandising, Digital Retailing, and Fashion Design programs.”

The scholarship fund has invited the winners to their National Merit Scholarship Awards Dinner on Jan. 9, 2018, in New York City. FSF will pay for the students’ airfare and hotel so the students can attend the award gala with executives from the retail industry.

 ”I’m thankful to God, my professors, friends and family that have helped me,” Bridges said. “I hope this is a step towards my goal of becoming a branding executive in the future."

 Harry added that she also hopes to use this event to build industry relationships.

“I'm thrilled that my long nights and hard work paid off,” she said. “I hope that this scholarship will help me build connections in the retail industry and land an internship in New York.”

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