Blake Nicholas

Experience

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  EXPRESS

  May 2021 - Aug 2022

  Sales Associate

  - Handled online and in-store cashier work (sales, exchanges, returns, and price checks) and answered customers’ questions about the store’s merchandise.- Performed recovery (refolded clothes on the floor), distributed go-backs (put clothes back in the correct place on the floor), processed new shipments of clothing, and displayed new shipments in a visually impactful way.- Identified clothes to package for ship-from-store orders.- Informally trained new hires.- Cared for customers’ needs by performing stock and promotions checks.- Worked in an understaffed store with a customer rating of 4.2 out of 5 for customer satisfaction, which improved teamwork and customer service skills.- During night shifts, all the sensors and hangers were moved to our back stock, and the day’s worth of trash was gathered to be thrown down the garbage chute.- During morning shifts, the store floor and bathrooms were cleaned along with fitting rooms, and recovery was performed. Show less

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  The Upper Deck Company

  Jun 2022 - Aug 2022

  Legal Intern

  - Summarized different Marvel products' compliance requirements for testing, labeling, age grading, etc.- Drafted cease and desist letters to infringing companies based on sample letter layout.- Performed public domain searches to ensure that Upper Deck had the right to feature people, symbols, places, etc. on Upper Deck’s products.- Searched eBay and Amazon to identify infringing trading cards and see if other companies were selling Marvel trading cards that did not have Upper Deck’s logo.- Updated terms and conditions for Legendary DXP video game based on similar companies’ terms and conditions.- Worked independently and remotely and met deadlines. Show less

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  Neighborhood Partnership Program Occidental College

  Sept 2022 - now

  - Assist with administrative duties including organizing office materials, copy editing, data collection, oversight of expense reports, etc.- Provide support for Oxy Upward Bound’s Leadership Conference and College & Career Access Day- Create PowerPoint presentations for external engagement with LAUSD students from underrepresented backgrounds - Advised underrepresented LAUSD students of color in attaining postsecondary degrees by presenting resources and making suggestions for the college application process in student panels which developed communications skills.- Advertised information on college student life, by guiding LAUSD students on college tours of Occidental College during “shadow days,” where shadow students would experience college lectures and campus life firsthand.

  • Administrative Coordinator

    Sept 2024 - now

  • College Ambassador

    Sept 2022 - Sept 2024
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  WORK

  May 2023 - Aug 2023

  Research & Learning Agenda Intern

  - Researched environmental and socioeconomic policies and trends in Ghana, Haiti, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the United States. Across these regions, I identified patterns and solutions regarding gang violence and public health crises, energy cutoffs, workers’ rights in the gig economy, pending and existing EU and US laws related to corporate ESG standards and commitments, types of recycling and its challenges, summer learning loss, MRFs (material recovery facilities), waste banks, informal sector displacement, child labor, responsible sourcing in the international supply chain, the plastic and carbon credits marketplace, and proper recommendations for business owners’ take-home income and internal financing; which helped the team at WORK better advocate and create programming, for informal waste collectors globally.- Created Google Slides presentations and write-ups, to aid external audiences in understanding programs, services, models, and strategies, and to engage them to get behind WORK's cause.- Presented research to WORK team members during board meetings, with up to 20 members per meeting, which developed public speaking and presentation skills.- Edited asset transfer contracts between for-profit corporations and WORK.- Collaborated with the team to structure the fall learning agenda at WORK and apply research to set up advocacy agenda, beginning by addressing corporate and supplier responsibility.- Supported Supply Chain Standards programming by combining research and data to improve performance. - Mapped and assessed a bottom-up index of circular economy actors so that the team and impact partners could use it in partnership development. Show less

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  IES Abroad

  Aug 2023 - Dec 2023

  IES Correspondent: Blogger

  - Authored firsthand entries of the study abroad experience in Austria, through written and video blog posts primarily tailored to those currently studying abroad or considering studying abroad.

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  Elliott School of International Affairs

  May 2024 - Jul 2024

  Security and Conflict Studies Research Assistant

  - Researched U.S. foreign policy in the executive branch and defense agencies toward international security matters during and after the Cold War period; primarily the U.S. approach toward Russia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.- Managed communications on a web-application platform to facilitate participation by the U.S. Department of State simulation team, consisting of senior military officers and civilian executives, for George Washington University's National Security Studies Program (NSSP). This was part of the June 2024 Senior Management Course in National Security Leadership, specifically for the 'Baltics on the Brink' crisis simulation exercise.- Assisted with initial development of a pilot-dialogue initiative known as the "America's Why Project" Show less