Marylander and newly minted University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumna Kendra Day landed a job with Under Armour. The company was lauded by Gov. Larry Hogan for setting an example among private industry to manufacture essential medical equipment for health care workers in the fight against COVID-19. Day joined the Baltimore-based company as a materials analyst assistant following her December 2019 graduation from UMES as a scholar-athlete.
“Working for Under Armour, I was able to find a way to blend my two passions of sports and fashion into one,” Day, a native of Hagerstown, Md., said. She credits her collegiate career playing volleyball with the Lady Hawks and attending classes in human ecology with a concentration in fashion merchandising as the winning combination that made her an attractive job candidate.
Day transferred from Hagerstown Community College, also the Hawks, to spend her junior and senior years at UMES. Although sporting an injury which would take her out of competition her senior year, she was nonetheless named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) All-Academic Team and MEAC Commissioners All-American Team. She helped UMES’ 2017 volleyball team finish first in their regular season conference play and make it to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The team earned the Quantum Leap Award that year after finishing the season with a 27-9 record and led all Division 1 teams in aces per set.
“With Under Armour being an athletic wear company, they were looking for someone that not only had knowledge about the fashion industry, but could also relate to the clientele they design for,” Day said. Among her responsibilities with the company are preparing test samples, running textile tests, recording data, analyzing test results and organizing fabrics.
UMES’ program provided her with the “broad background in fashion” that she feels was needed for success. “I was able to take classes in textiles, fashion buying and product development that really helped me gain an overall knowledge base to prepare me for many elements needed in the profession,” Day said. “When you start your journey in the work force, you realize that you need to find that step in the door.” Hers was the experience in textiles.
Day added to her classroom experiences a summer internship as a merchandising intern with D.Monaco Designs in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. Working closely with the store owner, she “became very familiar with the in’s and out’s of the fashion world.” “I attended trade shows in New York City and assisted with buying, event planning, styling, and contacting vendors,” she said. When the internship ended and she returned to UMES, they kept her on as a virtual assistant, maintaining all of their social media accounts.
Her UMES family, including professors Bridgett Clinton, Grace Namwamba, Lombuso Khoza, and April Stull, she said “were always there for me and helped me get to where I am today.” Day said she wouldn’t have gotten the position at Under Armour without their continued support and desire to educate students with all of the elements of the industry.
“There were times that I may have not understood why we were studying some aspects, but now that I am on the other side, I see the importance of this knowledge and how great our program is,” Day, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from the program, said.
Her background attracted other job offers after graduation, but she is content with her choice.
“I knew I had to stick with my dream (of combining fashion and athletics) and work for a company that I would love showing up to every day,” she said. “I’m happy to say that Under Armour has not disappointed me. They have become my next family in this part of my life, and I’m looking forward to see where this takes me. Under Armour is doing a fantastic job making masks and gowns for the frontline workers. It makes me proud to work for a company that is doing everything in their power to make a difference.”
