Hey y’all!
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it’s Fatoumata—AKA Fanta (🍊 yes like the orange soda)—again!​
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You may remember me from my email takeover last year—and guess what? I’m back!

Mindi’s getting ready for her #WinningCollege workshop for rising seniors that starts this Sunday (and no, it’s not too late if you're interested in comprehensive college application and essay support).
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So, I’m doing a surprise pop-in and taking over her email!

Now, time for a little life update…

Around this time last year, I called Mindi—overwhelmed by advice I’d gotten from my Career Advisor at the USC Marshall School of Business, where I’m currently a sophomore.

See, I’m trying to get into the fashion industry, and before you call me out—yes, I know that USC isn’t a fashion school.

So what the heck-o-roonie am I doing here?

I’m studying business administration as a way to learn how to run my fashion empire—genius, right?
Many fashion undergrads gain a lot of technical and creative skills, but lack the crucial business foundation that allows them to actually sell their products and run a profitable business when the time comes. When I got my acceptance to USC’s Marshall School, I figured I’d skip that particular learning curve as a graduate and make my mistakes as a student.

So back to my convo with Mindi this time last year!

My advisor was like:
​“You should’ve been famous and had a ton of internships and portfolio showcases like… yesterday.”
👎

I thought that was it.
​I’m never going to make my dream come true.​
I should just drop out and go work for my mom.

But Mindi—like the angel she is—reassured me. She told me:

• I was still a freshman—I did NOT need to have everything figured out, no matter how much I wanted to.
• The day wasn’t over.
• And if I broke the mountain of tasks into smaller steps, this would feel less like rocket science…and more like tiny math problems.

So I sucked up my tears, drank some water (this seriously helps, y’all—stay hydrated please), and broke down the advisor’s advice step-by-step with Mindi.

Fast forward to December 2024: I got an email saying the fashion case study I’d created the summer prior had won the Virgil Abloh Post-Modern Scholarship!
I was about to be a 2025 Fashion Scholarship Fund Scholar.

The next few months flew by.
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I headed to New York for the Fashion Scholarship Foundation Live Gala in March 2025:
​networking with celebrities, top designers, and models, and visiting the headquarters of Tiffany & Co., Women’s Wear Daily, SKIMS, and more.

Chosen from over 500 candidates nationwide, my classmate and I became the first two students of African descent at USC to ever win the award.

So why am I telling you this?
Not to brag—okay, well, maybe—but not just about me.

I wouldn’t have been able to muster the courage to make these life-changing steps if it hadn’t been for Mindi proudly pushing me forward and cheering me on.
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💕 Love her down, seriously. 💕

You need your fill of Mindi-Awesomeness ASAP—so go snag one of the last three spots in #WinningCollege, starting THIS Sunday, May 18!
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Mindi is getting busier by the second (trust me—I’m her assistant), sooooo book a call immediately.
You cannot afford to miss this.

Anywhooo, I’ve got side quests to finish, so I’ll leave you to it.
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Promise me you’ll book a call?

I can always count on y’all.

Till next time,
​Fatoumata 🍊