Blythe Robinson grew up fascinated with the French language and culture. So, when the South Carolina native was looking at degree programs in the Darla Moore School of Business, and she saw that the Responsible International Leadership cohort program included a yearlong study abroad trip to France, she took advantage of the opportunity.
Now a junior international business and marketing major, she sees studying abroad as an opportunity for personal growth — and to gain a global perspective on business she can employ in her postgrad career.
Aside from her studies at the University of South Carolina, she’s involved in the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, the Rising Scholars program, the Association of African American Students, the leadership honor society Omicron Delta Kappa and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
We talked to her about how her experiences at South Carolina have helped shape her.
Why did you want to study international business and marketing?
I’ve always been interested in business, so that’s the route I was always going to
take. But when you’re an international business major, you have to choose two majors,
so I chose marketing as my second major. I like the creative aspect of it — I like
being able to make things look appealing. I also think understanding what draws people
to buy a product or different ways a product can be promoted to different demographics
is really interesting. It’s almost like there’s never a best way. It’s just the way
that gets people the most engaged, but that can look different for every demographic
since they have varying interests.
What do you hope to learn during your yearlong study abroad trip to France?
I’m going to Cergy, France, for a year starting in January, which is around 30 minutes
from Paris. At first, that was really daunting because I’ve never been away from home
for that long. I have been to Paris before, but it was only for a week. I’m really
excited to be fully immersed in another culture and learn new things. I’m also hoping
to become more fluent in French. I want to take marketing classes while I’m there,
especially since I’m thinking about working in marketing over in Europe.
I understand that you are interested in consumer influence on marketing in the beauty
industry. How did you get into this area of research?
Growing up as a dancer, I noticed the makeup I used did not appear on my skin how
it was advertised. I’ve also seen so many other Gen Z women of color who are influencers
speak out about the inequalities in makeup on social media. It’s a problem because
people of darker skin complexions deserve to be able to use makeup, too.
USC has help me become more responsible and independent. I have to hold myself accountable for my classes and grades. USC has also given me leadership opportunities and helped me gain professional skills through the management classes I’ve taken or events with the McNair Scholars Program.
Over the last few years, I’ve seen more brands not only collaborating with or sponsoring those influencers, but they’re actually listening and changing their brand strategy structure. And that’s why things are becoming more diverse, and more people are able to utilize beauty products. One brand that has really shifted the trajectory of diversity in makeup is Fenty Beauty. They started out with 40 foundation shades, which set a new standard for other brands to start doing the same.
I’ve already done the literature review, but I’m planning on expanding on this research when I get to France because I’ll have access to a new demographic of people and be able to get an international perspective. I would like to continue to collect data through interviews or a survey to see if perspectives change over time and with a different demographic.
What do you want to do after graduating?
I want to go to graduate school for international business and also get a law degree.
I’m interested in getting a law degree because I think it would be beneficial for
me to understand policy that affects business. Then I want to go into brand marketing
and work abroad or maybe work for a brand marketing firm.
How has USC impacted you?
USC has help me become more responsible and independent. I have to hold myself accountable
for my classes and grades. USC has also given me leadership opportunities and helped
me gain professional skills through the management classes I’ve taken or events with
the McNair Scholars Program. I’ve been able to attend luncheons where we learned proper
etiquette for professional settings. I feel those skills will be important in the
workforce.