Exeter Resident Rubs Elbows with Fashion's Elite

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ITHACA, NY (04/17/2013)(readMedia)-- Exeter resident Beecher DiNapoli is rubbing elbows this spring with the fashion elite while interning at LaForce & Stevens, a marketing communications agency that specializes in fashion and luxury brands.

A junior integrated marketing communications major in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, DiNapoli is taking part in ICNYC, a program that allows students to spend a semester living and interning in New York City.

DiNapoli said her favorite ICNYC experience has been working at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, where she literally had a front-row view.

"I was in charge of signing in media and checking in photographers. I also got front-row seats to the shows and got to meet plenty of celebrities with great style."

She attended the BCBGMAXAZRIA and Herve Leger shows, where she was seated among personalities including "Real Housewives of New York" star Carole Radziwill and singer Kate Nash.

DiNapoli said her Park School courses and professors prepared her well for her internship.

"All of my marketing, advertising and public relations classes prepared me by showing me how fast-paced this industry is," she explained. "Many times in class we had to think of a new project idea or campaign in less than a week. In the real world of public relations, that happens every day."

DiNapoli said she chose to intern at LaForce & Stevens because of its respected reputation and her love of fashion.

"I researched their clients and found out they do a lot of work with Fashion Week," she explained. "I thought it was the best choice for me."

ICNYC is a semester-long program that combines internships with classroom-based and online courses, allowing students to gain real-world experience in New York City. Students have interned at NBC, Rolling Stone and Seventeen magazines, "Saturday Night Live" and the "Rachael Ray Show," and Madison Square Garden, among other companies.

Along with her internship, DiNapoli is taking three courses: Government and Media, Direct Marketing, and Art and Architecture in New York City, an experiential class centered around weekly visits to galleries and museums.

While she was nervous about living in a big city, DiNapoli said she has fallen in love with New York and has plans to return after graduating in the spring of 2014, when she hopes to launch her own career working in the fashion public relations industry.

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From day one, Ithaca College prepares students for personal and professional success through hands-on experience with internships, research and study abroad. Its integrative curriculum builds bridges across disciplines and uniquely blends liberal arts and professional study. Located in New York's Finger Lakes region, the College is home to 6,100 undergraduate and 400 graduate students and offers over 100 degree programs in its schools of Business, Communications, Humanities and Sciences, Health Science and Human Performance, and Music.