Alumna Katherine Kalemkarian recognized with Olivet's 2014 Young Alumni Award

2014 Nov 6

Olivet Nazarene University presented its fourth annual Young Alumni Awards to alumna Katherine Kalemkarian of Los Angeles and alumnus Scott Karalis of Palatine, Illinois, during the morning chapel service on Friday, October 31, as part of the 2014 Homecoming and Family Weekend activities. She is the daughter of George and June Kalemkarian of Moline, Illinois.

With a vision for a fashion industry career, Kalemkarian graduated summa cum laude from Olivet in 2006 with a degree in family and consumer sciences. Majoring in fashion merchandising, she also completed minors in business management, marketing and French.

In 2006, Kalemkarian was hired by TJX Companies as an allocation analyst and moved to Boston to work out of the corporate headquarters there. This is the parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods in the U.S., as well as retail chains in Canada and Europe. In 2010, her two-year assignment as a planning manager with TK Maxx, the European division, took her to London to live and work.

Currently, as a ladies dress buyer with TJX, she is based in the Los Angeles satellite buying office. Each year, she purchases dresses that ship to nearly 2,000 stores nationwide. Identified as a potential leader for her company, she is on a leadership mentoring and training track.

Kalemkarian enjoys traveling and has visited 22 European countries. Experiencing new cultures, foods and people is one of her passions. As a self-described foodie and an excellent cook, she often ministers to others by hosting dinner parties for them at her home.

Each year, as part of the Homecoming celebration, Olivet honors one outstanding alumna and one outstanding alumnus with this award. Recipients are chosen by vote of the Alumni Board, and must have graduated from Olivet within the last 10 years. These awards are underwritten by alumni Mel and Judith (Tucker) Sayes, 1973 Olivet graduates, of Little Rock, Arkansas.