We love seeing our students’ passions ignite through various courses and internship experiences. For Erin Watton, ’21, her marketing classes in the b-school helped her launch a business from her dorm room.

Watton created e.xclusively — a custom, hand-painted apparel business that blends her interest in both art and sustainable fashion — after wanting experience in fashion and marketing. She upcycles jackets, jeans, and bags with paint to create one-of-a-kind items for customers. When she isn’t in class, she is either consulting with a client, sketching and painting designs, posting Instagram content, or updating her website, according to a recent RVA Mag article about her business.

“In the fashion industry, user-generated content and word-of-mouth are how people learn and trust brands,” Watton said. “For me, when my clients post photos in their custom, hand-painted pieces, their followers trust my business and may even follow along on social media, or purchase a piece themselves.” 

This kind of entrepreneurial spirit can be found throughout our campus, and we couldn’t be more proud!