Cara Benevenia and Her Interns
Cara Benevenia ‘17, a Marist College fashion alumni, founded her own eponymous luxury handbag label in 2018. She has made great strides since and offers a nod to Marist for teaching her important lessons and providing her with some of her “superstar” interns.
Caption: Madison Breemen ‘23 working on her virtual e-commerce internship. Photo Credit: Cara Benevenia
“I was heavily involved which was something I ended up loving about the internship. I'm grateful to have had the experience that I did because I know that I wouldn't have found that level of involvement and being allowed to be part of so many conversations at a larger company,” said Madison Breemen ‘23, an E-Commerce intern during summer 2021.
A Cara Benevenia internship is very hands-on. It introduces students to every aspect of a business and teaches them real life experiences. “They get a very realistic view of what goes on, what it takes. I’m very open with them,” said Benevenia.
Maria Drametenos ‘23, a fall 2021 social media intern, has only been working with the Cara Benevenia brand for almost two months and has already absorbed so much. “I’ve learned a lot about the logistics and how realistic you have to be. It’s very easy in any creative field that you’re in to kind of start daydreaming and coming up with all of these really great ideas. And everything sounds great, but when it comes down to money and your resources and understanding time, suddenly all your great ideas kind of seem dumb. It can be really discouraging, but I think something I've learned is a balance between that,” Dramentenos said.
Benevenia strives to show her interns the in’s and out’s of a business, something she feels was lacking in her personal experiences as an intern.
For Zoya Groves ‘23, a marketing, public relations and social media intern for summer 2021, this internship opened her eyes to a new career she is contemplating taking on. Working with Benevenia showed her the potential she has as a stylist.
Breemen said it helped solidify that she is on the right track for what she wants to do.
Benevenia started utilizing interns in 2019 because she wanted to create a mentorship program that connects students to other alumni. Since then, the program has gained a lot of popularity among Marist students, as well as on other campuses.
Caption: Shea Thomson ‘23 modeling the Cappuccino Baguette for Cara Benevenia Instagram content. Photo Credit: Cara Benevenia
Shea Thomson, a spring 2021 social media intern, expressed just how important Benevenia and her company have become in her life, from preparing her for a future in the fashion industry to developing a close friendship. “She is definitely one of my mentors and someone I look up to.”
Benevenia reflected on one of her mentors during her time at Marist and credits Professor Sonia Roy for giving her the wakeup call she needed to accomplish the success she sees now. She explained that Roy gave her a grade that practically failed her out of the fashion design school. Benevenia reached out to Roy in confusion and her response has stuck with Benevenia for all these years.
“She said that out of all the designers in the grade, I was her biggest disappointment. That literally crushed me. That was the push that I needed,” said Benevenia. “That ego-crush helped me realize that I need to put in the work. I take that with me everyday and that’s why I work so hard. When you look up to people and they tell you that they’re disappointed in you, that hurts.”
Benevenia explained, knowing how she performed in Roy’s class, a final “B” or an “A” grade would have left her with the attitude that she didn’t need to put in the work to be successful.
Her senior year she was the recipient of “Outstanding Collection”. Upon graduation, Benevenia worked in the mass-market industry, luxury design with Zac Posen and a start-up luxury resort brand. She quickly realized that she felt unfulfilled in those industries, except for pursuing her own creative endeavor. And so, Cara Benevenia, a luxury handbag brand, was born. She does, however, attribute a lot of her inspiration for fashion as art to Zac Posen and referred to him as “a creative genius.” During her time at Zac Posen, Benevenia saw the delicate craft of artisans and decided to utilize that in her own brand.
Now, Cara Benevenia handbags can be seen on the arms of celebrities like Gabrielle Union.
The interns unanimously agreed that their time spent at Cara Benevenia was an unmatched experience, learning invaluable skills and developing a friendship with the creative director herself.