By SHARON MOORE

Staff Writer

The Merchandising and Consumer Studies 103 class left Wednesday afternoon for a three-day trip to Dallas.

The purpose of the class, Orientation in Merchandising and Consumer Affairs, is to explain career opportunities so students can make career choices before graduation.

"It's a good idea for a student in any major to get freshman-level exposure in their field," Linda Sivils, an associate professor in human ecology, said. "The students get focus for what they want to do."

The Dallas trip gave the students an opportunity to hear from people in the field, Sivils said, whether in business for themselves or employees of large corporations.

"It's just as important to know what you don't want to do as what you do want to do," Sivils said.

Laura French, a junior merchandising and consumer studies major with a concentration in merchandising, said she was able to find focus on the trip.

"Before the trip I had an idea of what I could do," French said. "Actually going and seeing [the jobs] I was, like, wow."

Sivils said there are a great variety of career options in MCS, and students are faced with the decision of which career they want to choose because "they all sound like fun."

French said she was able to see the jobs and the ins and outs of each job.

"[The trip] gives you a feeling of what you could be," French said. "You see a person in a job and you think that could be you in a few years."

Erin Blank, a senior in merchandising and consumer studies, with a concentration in merchandising, wants to design clothing and eventually have her own business.

"It would be fun to get a job in a showroom, because that's what I want to do," Blank said.

French wants to be a buyer. This is a person who travels to showrooms to buy designs, name brands and colors or styles in fashion.

"The trip showed different areas to work in other than just retail," French said.

Sivils said the whole idea is to plant seeds and for the students to get as much exposure to the businesses as they possibly can.

Blank is a senior finding focus before graduation. Blank said it is important to make connections and let employers connect a name and face with a resume.

"I wanted to shake hands and get my face out there," Blank said.

Sivils said sometimes current students can meet former students at the different businesses. The graduates usually share advice with the students such as courses to take and avoid or internships to pay attention to.

"It's rewarding to hear the former students say 'pay attention to her,' or 'I thought it wasn't important, but it really was,'" Sivils said.

Enrollement in the class is not required to take the trip, and there are often non-majors or friends of majors that attend, Sivils said. "When the bus is full, no one else can go."