Fashion and Advertising Students Advance to Finals in Prestigious NRF Retail Challenge

PhotoL-R: Hazel Avery, Michelle Flores, Natilee Strey, Graeme Cote
A team of students made the finals in the 2025 NRF Foundation University Challenge, competing for scholarships and industry recognition in New York City.

A team of Columbia College Chicago students has been named one of the top three finalists in the 2025 NRF Foundation University Challenge, a prestigious national competition recognizing innovation, collaboration, and leadership in retail. The team—Hazel Avery, Graeme Coté, Michelle Flores, and Natilee Strey—will compete for tuition scholarships and industry recognition at the NRF Foundation Honors on January 12, 2025, in New York City.

These students, who participated in collaborative classes from Fashion and Advertising taught by Dana Connell and Peg Murphy, developed a concept for Carter’s during a five-week intensive course in fall 2024. The challenge, presented by Kohl’s, tasked teams with creating innovative retail solutions beyond traditional stores and e-commerce for Carter’s, Inc., the largest branded marketer of young children’s apparel in North America.

“Competing in a national challenge has been a transformative experience,” says Michelle Flores. “It’s an opportunity to test my knowledge and skills under pressure while representing Columbia.”

Columbia’s team will compete against finalists from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and the University of North Texas, pitching their campaigns live to a panel of executive retail judges. The winning team will receive a $30,000 tuition scholarship, with $20,000 scholarships for the second- and third-place teams.

Flores credited her professors for their support throughout the process. “Dana Connell and Peg Murphy challenged us to think critically and refine our strategies,” she says. “They gave us the confidence to take risks and grow as a team.”

Since 2014, the NRF Foundation has awarded more than $6.4 million in scholarships, empowering students to build successful careers in retail and related industries. “The challenge provides students with the unique opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to a real-world setting with a national brand,” says NRF Foundation Executive Director Adam Lukoskie. “The finalists have developed valuable collaboration, leadership, and planning skills that will serve them throughout their careers.”

The NRF Foundation Honors will take place on January 12, 2025, just ahead of NRF’s annual Big Show in New York City, running January 14–16, 2025.

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