The first-place team in the 2023 NRF Foundation Student Challenge was unveiled January 15 in New York City at the NRF Foundation Honors, presented by American Express and PwC.
For the 2023 NRF Foundation Student Challenge, teams pitched their ideas for a growth strategy for Public Lands, a new outdoor specialty retail concept with a unique mission – to celebrate and protect public lands for all. The concepts that rose to the top were from:
- Columbia College Chicago (Ivonne Malagon, Alexis Norris, Juan Osorio, and Alessa Wright)
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (Kiera Berry, Shannon Curley, Kristin Hall and Avery Van der Linden)
- Florida State University (Delaney Hanson, Grace Long, Alison MacCloud and Gustavo Rubio)
The results of the competition were announced by Kohl’s Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Michelle A. Banks.
“All of us at Kohl's believe in our communities - supporting and investing in people as they build careers in retail,” Banks says. “Each of these teams focused on the unique opportunity retailers have to drive positive and meaningful change, building a more inclusive and equitable community for all.”
Delaney Hanson, Grace Long, Alison MacCloud and Gustavo Rubio from Florida State University were each awarded a $7,000 scholarship in the business competition.
See the moment the top team from Florida State University was announced in the video below:
“Working on this project as a team has been such a life-changing experience,” MacCloud says. “We could not be more thankful for this opportunity.”
Undergraduates can create a team of two to four to compete in the 2024 NRF Foundation Student Challenge. The business case is open to students of all majors. And you can learn more about programs and resources from the NRF Foundation – including its industry-recognized RISE Up training and credentials – that help people of all backgrounds build life-changing careers here.