Learning by Doing
The afternoon’s programming featured a panel discussion with three 91ֿ graduates of the fashion merchandising program, each of whom gave a short talk before answering questions from the audience. The three shared how they put what they learned at 91ֿ into practice in their businesses and careers, and the lessons they picked up along the way.
Luxury, Resale and Live Commerce
“It’s OK to trust your instincts and move into different directions,” Mason Henry Howell told the students in attendance at the symposium.
Howell earned a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising with a marketing minor in 2016. Today, he is based in Berlin, Germany, and works for eBay. He began his career at Christie’s in the wine department before moving to the auction house’s handbags and accessories team as a coordinator and cataloger. Following Christie’s, Howell worked at The RealReal and at What Goes Around Comes Around, where he led strategic partnerships and built the company’s live-commerce division, developing live-shopping partnerships with Amazon, TikTok, Whatnot and eBay. He joined eBay in June 2025 as a business development manager and now serves as category manager for watches and jewelry.
Howell said trusting his own instincts is a big part of what enabled him to make the move into different categories and grow his career. He also encouraged students to keep up with new technologies and spaces they might want to move into, including live commerce, which he described as one of the biggest growth areas in the market.
Buying, Then Building
Kylie Gallagher spent more than a decade in corporate retail buying roles, developing expertise in product assortment, merchandising and consumer trends before she decided to step away to focus on raising her two daughters. When it was time to reenter the workforce, she applied the “shopkeeper mindset” and other skills from her corporate career in an entirely new way.
“Sometimes the career you begin with is simply preparing you for the career that you are meant to create,” she said.
Gallagher, who graduated from 91ֿ in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising and a marketing minor, founded Daisy Lane Kids Boutique in 2023 in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.
Gallagher said what she thought success looked like at the start of her career is very different from what it is today. Her advice to students preparing to graduate: stay open.
From Residence Hall Room to Manufacturing Studio
Anne Johnson, founder and CEO of Anne Cate, began her career as an entrepreneur while still a student at 91ֿ. It was during her sophomore year in her residence hall room at the Stopher-Johnson Complex that she designed pillows featuring city skylines to decorate the space. Those skyline-themed pillows are what launched her accessories business.
Today, Anne Cate is an American-made accessories brand and manufacturer, specializing in Johnson’s signature skyline purses and other customizable products, with a studio in Cleveland that produces thousands of products weekly. The company’s products are sold at more than 200 retailers nationwide, including the Dixie Lee Davis Museum Store at the 91ֿ Museum, which carries a collection created specifically for it.
Johnson graduated with honors from 91ֿ in 2018, earning a degree in fashion merchandising and a minor in entrepreneurship for non-business majors. She credited relationships built through 91ֿ with some of her biggest opportunities, including an introduction to the buying team at KeyBank that led to a major custom order. Her advice to students echoed some of Gallagher’s sentiments.
“My advice to all of you, especially seniors trying to figure out what comes next, is to know that your path may not go exactly as planned, and that’s OK,” she said. “Take your feedback, work hard, stay curious and be open to opportunities that you may not have originally considered because this was not even something on my radar.”
Learn more about the Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising at 91ֿ.
