Fashion Merchandising

In Megan's role as a merchandising manager of apparel, footwear, and designer brands for the Pittsburgh Steelers, she oversees buying, allocation, and merchandising across the ecommerce site, retail stores, and stadium locations. The Steelers are one of the only three NFL teams that manage their own merchandising, which allows Megan and her team to work directly with licensees and create exclusive products, only available through the team. The 2025 season is meaningful to Megan and her team as they launched a new throwback jersey, designed completely in-house, inspired by the first uniform worn in 1933. They also opened their first international store in Dublin, Ireland. The work is fast-paced and hands-on, which is what Megan enjoys most about her job. She said, "No two days are the same," and "every decision impacts how fans experience the brand." The Fashion Merchandising program at Mercyhurst gave Megan the creative and analytical foundation she relies on daily, from understanding consumer behavior to planning product assortments and analyzing trends. Megan said, "The small classes and close relationships with professors made it easy to learn by doing," and that "practical experiences still shape how she approaches challenges today." Mercyhurst taught Megan to think critically, stay adaptable, and bring both creativity and structure to her work; these are skills she said are invaluable to her work.

Barbie owns Bespoke Tailoring in Erie, PA, which offers tailoring for both men and women, as well as a selection of high-quality menswear. Barbie said her career started the only way a tailor can, through an apprenticeship with an old-school Italian tailor. She paired that with plenty of time behind the cutting counter at Joann Fabrics, all the while attending Mercyhurst University. Although doing all three at the same time was quite the feat to undertake, Barbie said she now realizes how lucky she was to have had the unique opportunity to be fully immersed in three different avenues of the fashion industry. At Mercyhurst, Barbie said she gained a robust set of skills in menswear, visual merchandising, personal styling, and textile knowledge, which came in handy when she decided to open her own business. After spending six years working as a tailor, Barbie eventually took the leap and opened her own shop, applying both her practical training and education to build something of her own. Barbie said she is not someone who she ever imagined would own a business, but Mercyhurst’s Fashion Merchandising program gave her the confidence to do so. Barbie said she is very grateful to the professors who helped her get to where she is today!

George said his experience at Mercyhurst helped mold him "into the hard-working, passionate, and curious professional" he is today. George said it provided him with "a plethora of tools about the real world and wouldn't change it for a thing." George is grateful for the people who pushed him to grow every day, whether it was a professor, teammates, or friends. George said he "grew in ways he could not imagine." George came to Mercyhurst for three years and studied at FIT as a visiting student for one year. While studying his senior year at FIT, George took every opportunity that came his way and created even more for himself. One of them was meeting with a Louis Vuitton recruiter at an FIT event. George, originally from Greece, said with persistence, persuasiveness, and staying true to who he is, he was fortunate enough to work for a company he said he could only dream of working at before coming to the U.S. for his studies.