Ashley Fries, '08

Ashley Fries, a 2008 UF graduate, recently landed a job working for her dream employer: Coach, the American designer and maker of luxury lifestyle handbags and accessories.

As a sales associate in Wellington, Fla., Ashley credits her sales ability to a retail management class she took at the University. “Dr. [Chris] Ward gave me an inside look at what a retail store entails. It helped a lot,” she said.

Of her time at the University, Ashley said, “I liked the fact that professors knew me by name, and I felt comfortable enough to approach them about anything and everything.”

While working full time for Coach in Florida, Ashley also is enrolled in UF’s online master of business administration program.