Student Spotlight with Sedricka Morris

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS

SEDRICKA MORRIS RETAIL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Interviewed by Jack Kempton Recently, I was lucky enough to have a chat with student board member, Sedricka Morris, on a variety of topics related to her activities as a stand-out entrepreneur. These included: the retail program within our college, her growing fashion magazine, her interests and experiences within the fashion and modeling industries, as well as personally influential professors and faculty from within the Jim Moran College. By the end of the interview, I was even more impressed by Sedricka ’ s brand and the potential for its future growth. She is a fantastic example of an entrepreneur and I hope that many of you all can connect with her as well. What inspired you to start D E V I S E?

Growing up I enjoyed collecting magazines. I had a massive collection of

Harper ’ s BAZAAR magazines. Every month a new issue was mailed to my

house and I would practice model poses from the magazines and also tear out

pages to decorate my bedroom wall and door. Every time I flipped through the

magazines I would always try to imagine myself in the magazine. As I got older

I came to a realization that all these fashion magazines were celebrity based,

which didn ’t appear fair to me. Exclusivity is something I experienced a lot

while growing up so, I came up with the idea that I wanted to do something

where everyone could be included. Being a fashionable person that I am, I

decided to create DEVISE, the community based fashion magazine.

How did you first get into fashion?

I like to think that I was born with a fashion sense. From

the time I was in Head Start, my mom was in control of my

fashion style. She would have an outfit picked out for me

every morning, and if I didn ’t like what she had picked out

I would literally silent cry for like a good 5 minutes before I

got dressed. I couldn ’t just tell her that I didn ’t like it,

because in my household you were to never go against

anything mama said or did because it was her way or the

highway until we moved out. I didn ’t have control of what I

wanted to wear until I got in middle school, but even then

my freedom for fashion was taken from me when my

mom decided to enroll me into a school that wears

uniforms. I would let my imagination soar for long periods

of time in my bedroom just drawing outfits that I would

have wanted to wear to school because I had no freedom

to wear what I wanted.

What originally attracted you to the retail program within the Jim Moran College?

Originally it was the fact that it was here on FSU campus. I

had a plan to go to the New York Fashion Institute of

Technology after high school, but the tuition was way out

of my budget. So, I was going to go to school for strictly

business but when I came across this program, which at During your time at FSU and in the retail program, have there been any particular professors that have been especially influential with your personal and business growth? If so, who and how?

Yes, there have. I take away from all of my studies and

instructors, but the main instructors who have been very

influential to my personal and business growth are Mrs.

Langston, Mrs. Steed, and Ms. Griffin. I took Mrs. Langston's

Merchandising Principles class last semester, learning

everything from the difference between E-Commerce and

Brick and Mortar, to merchandising guidelines and applying

that information to help plan out my business. Mrs. Steed has

always gone in-depth and come up with scenarios to help give

her students a clear understanding on how everything

operates when you develop a brand or a product. Ms. Griffin's

Go-To-Market Strategies class plays a very important role in

my personal life as a salesperson working in retail and for my

business. The knowledge I've gained with her lessons on

negotiating, building partnerships, and customer loyalty have

been applied to my everyday - when I go to work and when I

work on my magazine and collaborate with people to build a

team. Everything I learn is very vital to my future and I make

sure to invest in my personal development by attending class

as much as I can, because the knowledge that I take away

from my studies will help brighten my future .

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Interviewed by Kirsten Frandsen Adam Serota graduated in the first graduating class from the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship in 2019 with a major in Commercial Entrepreneurship. As a more recent alum who went to work for a startup after graduation, while continuing with his own company, Adam is a great representative of the things one can accomplish with this degree. When speaking with Adam, he was gracious enough to share a few insights with us.

WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT THE

ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM, FSU, AND

TALLAHASSEE?

I miss having my professors around me everyday, always

willing to take my questions and give me great feedback.

As far as Tallahassee goes, I miss feeling like I know

everyone in town! Moving to a new, big city is definitely

overwhelming coming out of the tight-knit community

that Tallahassee is.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST “REAL WORLD” CHALLENGE?

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO SINCE GRADUATION?

My biggest challenge definitely has to be adjusting to

living super independently. In college, I always had

roommates and friends across town. I never had to take

care of EVERYTHING for the household, always had

friends to go grab a meal with, etc. Moving across the

country and living in a 1/1 is definitely not like living in

Tallahassee with 20 friends in a mile radius. Nonetheless,

with all challenges come growth, and I'm definitely

enjoying the ride. I am now a pro solo-diner, which sounds

super lame to actually say, haha. The anxiety around

eating alone in the beginning was actually crippling

enough to make me go home and not even eat so I'm

proud to have grown over that seemingly silly fear. It's

always the little things.

I moved to Orlando to establish a second base for

Heritage Apparel at UCF. Once I got there, I was recruited

to join an AI/machine learning based start-up in Denver,

CO. After working a few months remote for them, I moved

to Denver in November to dive all the way into this

opportunity. I'm only the second person hired for their

sales team, and the first in my department. Very similar to

building my own business, I'm building this department

for Loxo. I'm absolutely loving it. The team here is super

talented and motivated; it's a great culture to be a part of.

Heritage is still going! I promoted my two best employees

to partner-level, and we are determined to all grow

WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE STUDENTS APPLYING TO THE JIM MORAN COLLEGE?

My advice would be to maximize your opportunity here.

There are so many people willing to help you in any way

you ask for. That isn't the norm outside of the University

setting. Get to know your professors, go to their office

hours, become close with them. The Jim Moran College of

Entrepreneurship is special because the students,

professors, and even the faculty are all so

entrepreneurial. As an entrepreneur, it's hard to find hubs

of like-minded people. JMC not only is that, but is a hub of

great people who want to help you grow as their #1