By Ginger O’Donnell | January 31, 2025
Mentorship has always been a defining feature of career success for Jenny Rudin, BFA ’12, a graduate of the fashion design program in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. While a student at WashU, she built a lasting relationship with designer and fellow Sam Fox School alumna Liz Giardina, BFA ’02, who was then vice president of design at Derek Lam 10 Crosby, a contemporary women’s clothing brand. As a result of this connection, Rudin had the opportunity to work with Giardina several years later as a freelance designer on a capsule clothing collection in collaboration with the women’s athletic brand Athleta.
Giardina, who currently co-chairs the WashU Fashion Network, is still there for Rudin today as she considers a shift away from fashion into hospitality interior design following a move to Boston with her husband.
“Liz has been there for me at some critical junctures in my career,” says Rudin, who is exploring creative and project management roles in the design of commercial and boutique hotel spaces. “It never ceases to amaze me how much WashU alumni are willing to pay forward their years of experience and wisdom. No one has ever said to me, ‘Sorry, I don’t have time for you.’”
It never ceases to amaze me how much WashU alumni are willing to pay forward their years of experience and wisdom. No one has ever said to me, ‘Sorry, I don’t have time for you.’
Jenny Rudin, BFA ’12
Rudin also pays forward the benefits of mentorship. This winter, she mentored two Olin Business School students through a flash mentorship opportunity as part of the New York Fashion Bear Trek, a career exploration program offered by WashU’s Center for Career Engagement (CCE) that took place Jan. 8-9. Following introductory phone conversations with Dominique Jordan, Class of 2025, and Ariana Tabrizi, a first-year MBA student, Rudin joined them and more than 100 other student mentees and alumni mentors at an in-person networking dinner held at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design.
The two students, both of whom are interested in entrepreneurship, cited the networking reception and their conversations with Rudin as one of the greatest parts of the Bear Trek experience. “Jenny gave me really great insight on a practical, human level,” Tabrizi says. Like Rudin, she has a creative background and seeks to supplement it with tangible business knowledge. “She shared what it feels like to be at different companies versus on your own and self-employed.”
“I’m learning from someone who has been in my shoes, and I’m taking it all in before I start my career. The best part is that I get to keep this mentor for the rest of my life.”
Dominique Jordan, Class of 2025, left, pictured with Jenny Rudin, BFA ’12, center, and Ariana Tabrizi, a first-year MBA student
Jordan, who aspires to create her own children’s clothing line, appreciates the long-term potential of her new relationship with Rudin. “I’m learning from someone who has been in my shoes, and I’m taking it all in before I start my career,” she says. “The best part is that I get to keep this mentor for the rest of my life.”
Jordan, Tabrizi, and the other New York Fashion Bear Trek participants also attended lunches with alumni representatives from companies such as Saylor NYC, founded by Jillian Shatken, BFA ’07, and made site visits to venerable luxury goods houses like Cartier. Such interactions build reciprocal, human-to-human connections — one goal of the program, according to Jen Logan Meyer, an associate director for the CCE who has helped lead fashion Bear Treks for nearly two decades. Over the years, she has worked to demystify the art of networking for students in creative disciplines, and she relishes seeing former students picking up that mantle as alumni.
“So many alumni were once insecure, unsure students,” she says. “Now, they are in a place of excitement and confidence. They have rewarding and interesting careers and can pass along their insights and experiences. It was really magical to see this at the networking dinner. Their energy and enthusiasm were palpable.”
The CCE offers Bear Treks during winter, spring, and fall breaks for a variety of industries across multiple cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The program is rapidly expanding under the CCE’s leadership — growing from nine treks last academic year to 16 this year, including six in St. Louis. “We absolutely want to expose students to both local and national markets,” says Casey Jenkerson, the CCE’s director of employer engagement. “It’s all about creating immersive experiences for students, connecting them with employers and alumni, broadening their professional networks, and opening doors to opportunities.”

Ways you can support student career development
- Join the university’s online networking and mentorship platform, WashU CNX
- Promote open jobs or internship opportunities on Handshake
- Make a gift to the Career Services Fund
Alumni have an ongoing, critical role to play in this effort. They can get involved as mentors by joining WashU CNX, the university’s online networking platform for alumni, students, and friends. They can promote open jobs or internship opportunities on Handshake, WashU’s career management platform, with assistance at the ready from the CCE. And those who prefer to contribute financially can make a gift to the Career Services Fund to bolster students’ career readiness through coaching, workshops, events, and programs like Bear Treks.
Meanwhile, Rudin remains mindful of mentorship’s importance as she navigates her career in Boston. She and her parents have supported career development opportunities for students in the past, and she plans to further develop and strengthen her mentoring relationships with Jordan, Tabrizi, Giardina, and many others.
“WashU is an incredible institution, and you leave with an exceptional and well-rounded education,” she says. “But the next step — especially as a creative — can be challenging. I think alumni should be doing whatever we can to support students embarking on the professional chapter of their lives.”