Kelley’s Retail Workshop, overseen by Dana Olsen, provides students with extensive exposure to the corporate retail industry and showcases various career paths available to future retail professionals.
Meeting weekly throughout the fall semester, students engage in comprehensive professional development, hands-on projects, networking opportunities, and collaborative problem-solving sessions. This immersive experience offers a unique perspective on well-known retailers and prepares students for real-world challenges in the industry.
The Retail Workshop works with a variety of retailers in the industry, including our partners:
“My favorite part of the Retail Workshop is the diversity of everyone in the organization. I felt like I was learning something new every day by just having a conversation with a fellow workshopper!”
Sharan PeshinClass of 2026
Workshop members have the opportunity to travel and visit retail corporate offices in the following locations:
Additional Retail Courses
Students have the opportunity to engage directly with recruiters and senior leaders from various companies, gaining firsthand knowledge about industry practices and insights into roles such as assistant buyer, merchandise planner, and merchandise analyst—three prominent entry-level positions within the retail sector.
First year or sophomore students of any major in the Kelley School of Business.
A successful applicant will have a strong passion for retail and be enthusiastic to learn about the industry. They will have an excellent academic standing and provide a meaningful, well-done application. The applicant will perform well in an interview, showing preparedness and genuine interest.
Applications will open January 16, 2025, and are due on February 17, 2025.
After submitting an application, chosen applicants will be invited to interview for the second round of the application process. After interviewing, decisions will be communicated by the end of March.
“I joined the workshop as a sophomore still unsure about where to take my career and thanks to the workshop I got a great first step/impression of retail. Talbott, the NYC trip, and my peers helped me learn so much which set me up in the perfect position for my internship at Abercrombie & Fitch this past summer.”
Amani VaswaniClass of 2025
Senior Lecturer
Director of the Center for Education and Research in Retailing
“I took over the retail workshop from my esteemed colleague Theresa Williams in 2019. I think we may have had 15 to 20 applicants. Because of the great students we were able to attract, more students followed in their footsteps. Word-of-mouth among students led to strong demand for the course as our retail partners provide great entry points for an interesting and fulfilling career. The greatest joy of the workshop is working with the wonderful students that applied to be part of it. Learning together, laughing together, eating together, traveling together. The administrative load associated with making something like this happen is extraordinary. And I think we finally found the secret sauce of how to allow our students to help us propagate the workshop and create even stronger demand for the learning outcome it provides. To every retail student that I have interacted with I thank you for making me a better person and hope that I had some positive impact on your life.”
John TalbottAssociate Director of the Center for Education and Research in Retailing
For questions on workshop enrollment, please email beshe12@iu.edu