Champagne and me.

CHEERS!

A (real) glass of Veuve Clicquot | Reims, France| June 2014

Naturally, I am celebrating the launch of The Fashion Speak with an imaginary glass of Veuve Clicquot. It would be an actual glass but those aren't exactly DC metro-friendly. No worries. Since you are reading this, it is only right that you celebrate with me! The Fashion Speak is in full swing and you are among the first to experience it. *raises imaginary champagne glass in Gatsby-like manner* Now that we've raised a glass it's time to for me to get très serious about my latest and greatest.

I write this post from my summer residence in Washington, DC where I moved immediately after finishing my Freshman year of college at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. This summer I am working as a PR intern for a renowned Washington, DC company that I will choose not to disclose for privacy reasons. What I can tell you is that I could not have hand-picked a better internship experience for myself. The mentorship and encouragement that I receive from my bosses is what young professionals dream of. The internship would have never been available to me had I not chose to attend George Mason. The opportunities are truly endless for those willing to put forth the time.  I wrote for Fourth Estate Newspaper which I found immensely beneficial on all fronts. I joined PRSSA and was elected to serve on the executive board as Social Media Liaison for my chapter (follow gmu_prssa on social media for my content). I was elected to serve on the executive board as Vice President for GMU Fashion Society at the end of my second semester. I attended Fashion PR Confidential where I got to travel to NYC to hear fashion industry professionals give insider tips on how to have a successful career. I wrote about that experience here for PR Couture, a major blog for fashion PR pros. The Monday following my weekend at Fashion PR Con, PRSSA was holding a career fair exclusively for students studying Communications. It was at this career fair that I met my current boss. After a long conversation about a summer internship and an immediate follow-up email (VITAL), I landed an interview that instantly landed me where I am today. I occupied the Dean's List both semesters which made me ecstatic considering I had to take *gasp* MATH (Jimmy Fallon voice: EW). All of the early mornings, the office hour meetings, the library hibernations, and the nitty gritty HARD WORK paid off ten-fold.

And now that I've introduced myself to you, please give me the details on your fabulous self by commenting below or emailing me directly at ashley.fashionspeak@gmail.com --- You and I will be homies, I can already tell.