Fashion Branding student lands exciting placement through academic scholarship

A GCU student has discovered her passion for fashion through an exciting placement with a Glasgow based UK fashion brand - proving that perseverance pays off!

Third year International Fashion Branding student Nia Dhillon had the opportunity to complete a six-week placement with fashion brand Oh Polly through an academic scholarship, allowing her to experience life in the fashion industry.

After initially applying for the scholarship in her first year and being unsuccessful, Nia decided not to give up and applied for the placement again in her third year and was delighted to be accepted.

Nia’s placement allowed her to experience each department within Oh Polly, ranging from social, graphic, digital, and marketing. During her time, she was even given the opportunity to come up with social media content ideas which was used for Oh Polly’s official social media accounts.

She said: “We were given the opportunity to brainstorm social media story ideas, and some of them were even placed on the official Tiktok, Instagram and Twitter pages.

Being a part of each department helped us to develop unique concepts based on the segment and wide-open ideas from the perspective of students. Additionally, we celebrated Pride Day by wearing many colours to work, and the fun never ended!”

As well as embracing the office culture, Nia used the opportunity to develop herself and has felt that the experience has helped increase her confidence. She said: “Because the Oh Polly team was so driven and industrious, I've tried to be like them and give my work my all. I'm more motivated than ever and eager to seize any opportunities without holding back or doubting my abilities.

Now looking back at her experience with Oh Polly, Nia wants to encourage students to embrace new challenges, despite how daunting it may be.

She said: “I would seize any opportunity that presented itself wholeheartedly. Even though I didn't receive the Oh Polly Scholarship in my first year, at first I wasn't even going to try again. However, I applied at the last minute for my second year, and it really opened my eyes to a whole new world of work. If you don't try anything, you'll never know if you'll like it, so I'd say go for it instead of being afraid it won't work out.”

Keep up to date with Nia’s fashion work by checking out her Instagram page

By Rachael McAlonan

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media  here