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Eugene Choi on Becoming Vice President of
Eugene Choi on Becoming Vice President of RMI
by Brooke Eldiridge
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Eugene Choi ‘21 wrapped up his multi-year relationship with RMI by stepping in as Vice President for his last quarter at SCU. RMI president Adele O'Neill appointed Choi as VP in the spring after she graduated and started her full time position with Rakuten.
“Adele asked me to take on some of her responsibilities and some new & exciting projects, ” Choi said. “I was happy to accept and start this new role of Vice President, in which I planned and organized with Adele behind-thescenes to ensure our students get the most out of RMI for spring quarter and beyond. ”
Choi’s time with RMI started back in his underclassmen days; he joined in the spring of his sophomore year.
“I knew no one in the program and had no idea what I was getting myself into, ” Choi said. "Through RMI, I met some of the best people at SCU and received valuable skills and opportunities. ”
Choi quickly got involved with the executive board upon joining RMI. His junior year, he started as a recruiting member and then continued on as Recruiting Chair for his senior year. He says that being on exec was a valuable experience.
“I am an idea person by heart and being on exec for two years meant non-stop sharing of ideas and insights, ” Choi said. “After Cynthia [Gamage] retired, Cindy [Cooper] allowed me to fulfill some of my ideas by taking on LinkedIn and some of the admissions responsibilities. I got (a lot) more involved with RMI this year than expected and I don't regret a minute of it. ”
Under Choi’s leadership, the Recruiting Committee has reached record numbers over the course of the 2020/21 academic year– even despite the virtual format.
“Just in my time here, we've consecutively broken the record number of enrollments for the Retail Studies minor, ” Choi said. “I do have to shout out our Recruiting team this year for working hard virtually and achieving something that has never been done and quite honestly will never be done again. ”
Choi’s rich understanding of the RMI community along with overall genuine passion for retail made him more than qualified to step in as VP. Not only did he contribute immensely to the program, but he also gained from the experience. "Being in the Vice President role has gained me a deep appreciation for the diversity and excellence of our students and how much our program has grown in the past four years, ” Choi said. “I really appreciate the amount of work that Dr. Kalyanam, Cindy, Adele, our professors and exec board have put into making our events, speakers, and resources accessible for the students throughout the pandemic. ”
As Choi’s time as VP and as a student at SCU comes to an end, students across the program will definitely benefit from everything he has contributed over the course of his years with RMI. Choi plans to build an alumni network to keep himself, past, and future alumni all connected post graduation.
“I hope that after I leave here, the students we've welcomed into the program can bring new life to the program and take the future of retail into [their] own hands, ” Choi said. “We are the next generation of leaders.. "
by Addy Camisa '21
This past March, seniors from the RMI program were offered the opportunity to attend a first-ofits-kind Merchandising Certification program with Bloomreach. The program was led over two days by Justin Daniel, Business Services Consultant from Bloomreach, Instructor for RMI's Digital Merchandising Certification and RMI Industry Fellow. Each day, the students attended the zoom session for five hours to learn from Daniel’s instructions and demonstrations, practicing how to navigate the Bloomreach platform through trial and error. The program was primarily lecturebased, followed by a course test at the end of the program to earn the official certification.
Laura Korngiebel ‘21 attended the program and explains that “having the program spread over two days was great because it gave [the students] time to digest the information. ” After the program, the students were able to take the certification test on their own time, allowing for them to review what they had learned before the final assessment. Students state that they highly valued the program’s supplemental videos and review materials. According to Olivia Mannion ‘21, her favorite part of the certification program was “learning how prevalent and necessary digital merchandising is in the current retail space. ” Mannion states that currently, Bloomreach powers 25% of all US and UK e-commerce businesses and is constantly expanding, which demonstrates the valuable insight they provide on the retail universe. Korngiebel shares that her favorite part of the program was the provided simulation where students were able to play around on the backhand of a mock store. With this simulation, participants were able to practice the main learning objectives in real time and gain firsthand experience with the material.
Walking away with a Bloomreach certification, students take away valuable lessons on digital merchandising and the activities that drive a purchase each step of the way. Korngiebel explains, “I feel like the skills I gained have realworld value, allowing me to contribute more to an organization. I have already seen the payoff of having this certification as the company I am interning for increased my responsibilities. Now, I am taking over promoting and digitally advertising our new app!”
Mannion agrees, stating, “I now understand the importance of building a magical online experience for the consumer. Overall, I can take the knowledge I gained through this certification to become a more well-rounded, collaborative team member in any future retail job I might have. ” With their newfound knowledge gained from the Bloomreach Certification, RMI attending seniors feel prepared to go into the retail landscape and enrich the organizations they join. RMI thanks Bloomreach, Professor Kalyanam and Justin Daniel for their valuable insight and commitment to the program.
