Cameron Smith is a junior from Atlanta, GA majoring in fashion merchandising and minoring in English, theatre, and business. Cameron is the vice president of ARCO (Appreciating Races & Creating Opportunities), a member of BSU (Black Student Union), and has led retreats through Campus Ministry. Cameron is also on theatre scholarship at Marist and recently finished working on “Lost in Yonkers.”

What made you choose your major?
I just switched over to fashion merchandising from business. I took the Fashion 100 class and I thought, ‘wow I really like this, I like what I’m doing’ so I waited a little bit to see and I found myself liking my fashion classes more than my business classes, and being more passionate about it, so I ended up changing majors.

What made you decide to come to Marist?
My step-sister’s friend is a Marist alum. I think I was in my sophomore year of high school when she said ‘have you thought about college yet?’ She had just graduated from Marist, and I looked it up. I ended up attending Marist's summer pre-college, and I loved it. I also received a theatre scholarship so that also has a lot to do with me being here. I love the program and everyone in it.

Do you have any personal or academic goals for Junior year?
Yes, I want to reach my goal GPA, because my first semester of freshman year I did not do well. But every semester I’ve been doing better and better, so that’s my goal- just to keep doing better so I can make up for that, and graduate on time. I’m also trying to get my schedule organized so I can study abroad in 2018. 

Where are you planning on studying abroad?
I was recently accepted into ASAP (Asia Study Abroad Program) for business; it’s studying abroad in Asia from January to the end of April. I also want to go to Paris to finish off my fashion courses in the fall. So that’s the game plan so far.

Have you participated in any internships?
Last summer I was working as a public relations intern for Pono, an Italian jewelry company in Manhattan. I worked on rebranding; I went out and talked to theater companies, I talked to Fox News, ABC, TNT to get our costume jewelry on shows. 

What advice do you have for high school juniors and seniors considering Marist?
One thing that made me stay at Marist was the fact that I knew when I graduated I was going to be successful. The teachers, the staff, and the professors provide a community feeling, and people have pushed me to do better. I’m not just a number, people want me to do well. Through good and bad, I've learned about myself, and it's molded me into the man I want to be and the workforce guy I want to be. 

Written by Nicole Benedetto '18