Family and Consumer Sciences-Merchandising

Madison Lemon is a graduating senior in the Family and Consumer Sciences-Merchandising program. She is a native of Georgia and a member of Alpha Xi Delta (ΑΞΔ) sorority. Madison plans to utilize her FCS-Merchandising degree by opening a franchise of Lizard Thicket—a boutique that has had an active presence in the Southern region of the U.S. since 1981.

She is currently completing her FCS 430 Senior Experiences in Fashion Merchandising with Red Threads in Jacksonville, AL. While gaining this hands-on experience, Madison is working to complete several assignments for the course that she will compile into an internship notebook as her final course grade. The components of the notebook include daily journal entries reflecting on the student’s experience, weekly letters to the Internship Coordinator summarizing her week, interviews of company/industry personnel, project complete with a proposed project outline, images of the student “in action”, performance review from the student’s supervisor, and student’s self and program review/evaluation.

Madison is on-track to graduate cum laude and with special honors this semester.

edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation programs throughout the United States to emphasize, measure and support the skills and knowledge that all teachers need from Day 1 in the classroom.

The CEPS is happy to announce the completion of our undergraduate advisory team!

Joining Amiee Thrasher (Lead Advisor) and Vicki Trammell, Taylor Brandt and Hanna Smith have accepted the position of CEPS advisors.

Amiee Thrasher, "I am truly excited about the new advising model and the team that will be serving the College of Education and Professional Studies. This new initiative will allow the cultivating of a culture of advising as teaching and learning. This will allow advisors to assist students with ownership of their educational and career goals."

Students from FCS 335 Visual Merchandising randomly chose their groups and were tasked with creating a company/business, logo, mission statement, slogan/motto, and target market; creating an inspirational bulletin board; creating a 50 3/8 in. x 81 3/4 in. x 19 3/8 in. window display that represents the elements on their bulletin boards; and creating a retail floor plan using the Floorplanner® website that measures no less than 625 ft2. This project and corresponding assignments assess the students’ comprehension of design principles such as rhythm, balance, proportion, unity, etc.; types of visual merchandising fixtures/furnishings; methods of visual display; assessment of traffic patterns/flow within a retail space; and types of floor layouts related to merchandise assortment and type of retail space. Due to space and material availabilities, the students had to be more creative with their selections, troubleshoot any unforeseen problems, and adjust some aspects of their bulletin board designs in a way that still represented their company’s brand image, target market, merchandise assortment, store type, theme/story board, etc.

The CEPS pinning ceremony celebrates the accomplishments of our interns and honors the cooperating teachers who welcome them into their classrooms to mentor them and assist in their development as new teachers.

All CEPS graduates from Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 were invited to meet with employers at the JSU Education Fair on April 8 in Leone Cole Auditorium. More than 50 school systems set up tables in a morning browse session and invited candidates back for interviews that afternoon.

Special thanks to Student Success Career Development Coordinator, Mrs. Becca Williams for conducting a virtual Resume Writing Bootcamp prior to the fair to assist those applying for jobs.

I am a blessed wife and a mother of two beautiful children. Originated from South Dakota, I found my forever home in the great state of Alabama in 2001 and joined the Friendliest Campus in the South just last year, and what a life-changing experience it has been! Starting my career in photography showed me the passion I had for creativity, which led me to design custom shirts and products in my spare time. It was not until I switched paths did I find that my true passion is for helping others develop and grow in their success as I started my career in Human Resources and administration. Working for the College of Education & Professional Studies here at Jacksonville State University has been an absolute blessing and has allowed me to be myself both creatively and professionally. The staff here really makes you feel welcomed and loved. I am excited to see what the future holds for me and all of us here at CEPS!