Apparel Merchandising students apply “Magic” to their future careers
By Karina Perez, March 3, 2026
Taking it thread by thread, the fashion community at Cal Poly Pomona prepares students with never-ending conventions, panels, and fashion headquarter field trips for the Apparel Merchandising and Management Association club.
Founded in 2015, AMMA, became a platform for Apparel Merchandising & Management students to meet and network with industry professionals and gain real world experience in the fashion industry.
“Our goal is to foster security with members with their career endeavors so that they’re ready for life after graduation” said Giselle Cruz, co-president and AMM student with an emphasis in fashion retailing.
The association is a product of the AMM baccalaureate program created in 1995, according to CPP news. They shared the program was derived from the Department of Foods and Nutrition, which once had a home economics program.
AMMA attends Magic, which are fashion events that take place in Las Vegas, New York, and Nashville every spring semester. The association attended the convention in Las Vegas Feb. 17-19 to speak with fashion representatives and advertisers to ask questions about retailing. The event offers a business aspect, with buyers who sell products and show how they advertise their brands to bigger fashion companies that attend, according to Cruz.
“Fashion can be viewed solely as designing and producing, but there’s also a business side and attending events like Magic educate us on that,” said Daleela Albornoz, club scheduler and AMM student with an emphasis in fashion retailing.
To be an active member and attend Magic, the association follows a point system accumulated by the number of meetings members attend and their volunteer work.
Membership for a semester is $35 and $65 for the full year. Hotel, food, gas and monorail ticket fees need to be covered by the students when it comes to field trips and travel expenses. For the association to continue offering these resources to members, funding is crucial, according to Albornoz.
The executive board attended an Associated Students Inc. conference last semester, where they presented their goals and plans for the year to pitch and receive a $10,000 budget. The association also volunteers at school events like Pumpkin Fest to fundraise.
“We’re planning field trips to different fashion headquarters like PacSsun to give our members options and a chance to build connections,” said co-president Skyler Nerida, who is an AMM student with an emphasis in fashion retailing.
The AMMA club, located in Building 45, struggles to connect with the CPP community given how distant they are from the rest of campus, according to Cruz.
For the association to get their voices out there, they attend weekly council meetings with the agricultural representative and other department clubs for presentations and attend club fairs throughout the semester.
Cruz claims movies like “The Devil Wears Prada” give fashion students a “mean girl” reputation, which the association shares is not the case whatsoever. She said AMMA and the department are dedicated to helping one another, especially incoming freshmen with advice on what classes to take and what kind of internships to pursue.
“Coming in as a freshman last year, it was nice to be welcomed into an environment where community was the No. 1 priority,” Nerida said.
Support from department chair and advisor of AMMA professor Chitra Dabas, is also a contributing factor to the success of the association and the department as a whole, according to Cruz.
Because of the association’s resources, alumna Lindsey Moran, who now works at Steve Madden, was able to jumpstart her career after graduation. Major brands that have worked with AMMA alumni range from Target, PacSun and Ross, according to Albornoz.
“As a full-time college student who also works, it was challenging to manage everything with club duties,” Albornoz said. “With the help of AMMA, I feel more prepared for this semester and for what’s to come.”
