Trevor Arellano, COL ’24, Lawrence, KS
The summer before my senior year, I never expected to put my degree-to-be to the side, but I am glad I did. At the University of Pennsylvania, I study both Anthropology and Health and Societies. However, this summer I worked and will continue to work at a lifestyle brick and mortar retail store in Old City, Philadelphia. Going into this internship I have never worked retail specifically; only semi-customer service jobs like at farmers markets back home in Kansas and my on-campus job at the Penn Museum library. Quickly I learned the ins and outs of a small business, taken under the wing of my mentor, friend, inspiration, creative, owner, and boss: Linda Smyth. She has opened my eyes to my untapped passion of clothing, styling, and curating.
While at Casa Vida, I helped in any way I could whether that be merchandising, creating content for the shop’s social media, and assisting in jewelry making (see picture), photoshoots (assisting and participating in [see headshot curtesy of Casa Vida]), and markets. My tasks never felt like a “job” or a laborious job. Every day I would go to work and have fun. Although not my focus academically, I learned essential knowledge in entrepreneurship and small business operations, an interest that I may now pursue post-grad. I was shown the importance of doing something you love and have a genuine interest in. And above all I was allowed the opportunity to be creative all summer, something I feel I lack during the semester.
My favorite activities would be going to Philly art scene events, making connections, and tapping into my anthropology brain by getting to discover how people found their passion, pursued it professionally, and found a community of likewise creatives to thrive and collaborate in. I learned the bigger mission of life by doing what you love. Post-grad (which is coming all too soon) I hope to continue creating, collaborating, and learning from others about their passions whether that be in the fashion world and/or in my academic interests I have cultivated while at Penn. I’m entering senior year excited for what is to come all thanks to my time under Linda and at Casa Vida made possible to the Career Services Summer Funding Grant.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2023 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
