Making up the dream

Sound like a dream job? For five Ohio State students, this is reality.

Jessica Storm, sisters Nadia and Samina Piracha, Kristiauna Mangum and Molly McDowell are campus sales managers for Mark, a beauty brand of Avon Products that sells makeup and skin-care products, clothes and accessories.

"Not only are we responsible for getting our schoolwork done well, because we want to be successful, we also have to make sure that we're delegating responsibilities, keeping in touch with our team, staying up-to-date with the newest lines of product that are coming out, throwing parties and also being responsible with money," said Storm, a junior in dietetics.

Launched in 2003, the brand targets young women and sells its products on the Internet, in catalogues and in person through sales representatives, like the five women at OSU.

"Mark is directed at high school and college-age girls," Storm said.

The five girls held a Mark party Wednesday night at the South Campus Gateway's Barnes & Noble to introduce the line of products to OSU women.

"I like how they make it affordable to college students," said Laura Speer, a freshman in criminology and one of about 25 event attendees.

Makeup artist Lisa Trnka demonstrated tips and tricks on how to apply the makeup and tested the different products on girls in the audience. She has been in the business for more than 18 years, working with celebrities such as Ricky Martin and Kate Moss.

With the slogan "Make Your Mark," the company wants to empower women in business and marketing. Mark is sending 12 girls from four different campuses to New York City this summer for a 10-week internship program and will start 20 additional programs on college campuses.

Mark also gives its employees and sales representatives the option of donating up to 50 percent of their proceeds to charity or other organizations. Caitlin Kirchner, another representative who works closely with Mark, is raising money for Relay for Life.

"What I love about Mark is that it's really great for your career development," said Nadia Piracha, a senior in strategic communication. "I'm graduating this year - I started off as a sales rep and then got promoted to campus manager - and now I've applied for internships. They're really focused on moving you up and giving you real world opportunities."

Mark representatives will be available from 2-7 p.m. April 18,21 and 22 at Barnes & Noble on campus. For more information about the Mark program at OSU, log onto meetmark.com/osu.

D'Andrea Kinley can be reached at kinley.8@osu.edu.