Apparel Merchandising Walmart Mentoring Circle Students Visits CEO McMillon

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Bumpers College's apparel merchandising and product development Walmart Mentoring Circle students were hosted by CEO Doug McMillion for an in-office visit.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Students in the U of A's apparel merchandising and product development program got a behind-the-scenes look at Walmart by sitting in on a corporate Saturday Morning Meeting and then visiting with CEO Doug McMillon.

AMPD students who are members of the 2016-17 Walmart Mentoring Circle, were invited to attend a meeting in March. The Mentoring Circle was created last year to help students develop professional and leadership skills. The students, who are minoring in business and have interest in Walmart, the apparel industry and business operations, have opportunities for job shadowing, store tours and walk-throughs, and visits with special guests.

One of those was McMillon, who hosted the group at Walmart's corporate headquarters in the office originally occupied by Sam Walton. McMillon talked to the group about ecommerce and how it relates to the future of retail.

The Saturday Morning Meeting is a monthly gathering of Walmart executives in the auditorium of its Bentonville headquarters to announce news and awards.

The Mentoring Circle meets monthly with Walmart's Ricci Grimes, senior director of Ladies Product Development, and Kathryn Miller, director of Jewelry and Accessories Product Development. Miller is a graduate of the apparel program, which is housed in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences' School of Human Environmental Sciences.

Meeting topics focus on resume and portfolio building, interviewing, executive presence and presentation, and transitioning from college to corporate environments.

The group also participated in a competitive shopping tour to compare prices and will job shadow numerous executives in the Bentonville complex later this year.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.