Finance Whiz Columbia MBA Student and Model Kemi Walks New York Fashion Week
We asked Kemi about what it was like to prepare for the runway and the entire week. Kemi says she had to train hard for that week. She told us that she cut out carbs from her diet. She spent a lot of time working out. She says it was a difficult process, especially doing it during her midterm week at Columbia Business School.
Kemi is a full time student and model. She currently attends Columbia Business School and models for Genetics Model Management. Kemi posted that she feels great that she is able to focus on real estate/finance at school and modelling at the same time.
Most recently and notably she has modeled for Forever 21 during NY Fashion Week. "I'm honored to share [that] I've just walked my first New York Fashion Week for Forever 21!!" Some other notable appearances of Kemi include modeling for leading brands like Danessa Myricks Beauty, getting posted on Bellami Hair social media, modeling on an NYC storefront for a luxury sunglasses campaign, and she was featured on several international magazine covers on newstands. We got the chance to ask Kemi a few questions about balancing work/school life and her experience at the New York Fashion Week.
We asked Kemi about her past and what led her to getting interested in finance. Kemi described to us her time at Northwestern University where she earned her Bachelor's in Philosophy. Kemi knew she wanted to concentrate on finance but there was no finance major at Northwestern University. She decided to choose a major she would enjoy and provide a challenge. During her junior year she got an internship with J.P. Morgan, where she started working full time in futures & options electronic trading and moved into real estate private equity.
We asked Kemi about her experience as a model walking the runway at New York Fashion Week. Kemi said that walking at NYFW was not originally in the plan when she started modeling. She recalls focusing on her runway walk for about a week or two before NYFW. She describes it as a very fun but intense experience and says that her practice was worth it. Kemi described fashion week as the “Olympics of fashion”. She says compared to a regular modeling set it is significantly more intense. She describes walking down the runway as a fun experience and that it was a great show.
We asked Kemi about what it was like to prepare for the runway and the entire week. Kemi says she had to train hard for that week. She told us that she cut out carbs from her diet. She spent a lot of time working out. She says it was a difficult process, especially doing it during her midterm week at Columbia Business School.
We asked Kemi what it was like to balance a work/school life. She told us that it is somewhat intense to balance modeling with school and business. She says she enjoys the fast paced nature of it all and says it is a very rewarding experience.
Kemi told us that she plans to model full time during her time at Columbia Business School. In the future, Kemi will pursue real estate investments after completing business school. Kemi’s full name is Kemi Areke.