FIT / S.H. Baik Young An Hat Company Scholarship

THA FIT Scholarship Winner Marisa Belfiore with Joon Woo Baik, Jae Won Baik and Seung Soo Bak from THA International Sponsor Young An and Bill Stein, Dorfman Pacific.

S.H. Baik of Young An Hat company generously donated $100,000 on behalf of The Headwear Association towards a scholarship for aspiring designers in the millinery field. This money has funded a scholarship at the famed Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. The scholarship has been established as an endowed scholarship award fund with a pledge of $100,000 it will be awarded in perpetuity using the interest earned on the gift.

Baik Sung-hak was born on April 18, 1940, in Heilongjiang province, China to one of the wealthiest households in the Manchuria region. A series of unfortunate events left Sung-hak fatherless at age five and a war orphan at the age of ten with the Korean War of 1950. Despite the numerous adversities he has faced, his experiences have also shaped opportunities that combined with his work ethic, outside-the-box thinking, and charisma allowed him to start his company, the Young An Hat Company. Today S.H. Baik has become a role model and his values and generosity continue to impact the lives of many through charity. Among his many charities,
S. H. Baik has founded and continues to support many orphanages worldwide.

The current FIT Scholarship recipient is Marisa Belfiore. Marisa is from Long Island. She is a self-taught hand sewer that always had an interest in making and understanding how things are made. Marisa will be graduating from the Accessories Design Associates program at FIT in May and will continue onto the Bachelors program. She plans to complete her Millinery certificate sometime next year. She is currently working at Wing and Weft gloves in the Garment Center. Ultimately, Marisa hopes to work in a creative field in the future, constantly learning new techniques and applying them to make her improve her work consistently.