Mika Inatome to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award from C.W. Post
1982 Graduate is Leading Bridal Gown Designer

When Mika Inatome arrived in the United States in 1976, she barely spoke English. Two years later, she was a freshman at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, N.Y., handling a full course of study. Upon graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, her father gave her $5,000 to launch an importing business — and the rest is history.

Within months, Inatome's Japanese fashion imports were in every top-tier department store in the country. Although she had achieved remarkable success in a short period of time, she wanted more. Not satisfied with simply importing high-end clothing, she began taking design courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology during the evenings, while continuing to run her business. Soon, she was creating bridal gowns for famed Japanese designer Yumi Katsura, whose work she also represented.

In 1995, Inatome launched her own line of bridal couture. Today, Mika Inatome is one of the hottest names in the bridal fashion industry, catering to a celebrity client list and to brides across the country. Her gowns are carried at fine department stores including Bergdorf Goodman and Marshall Field. They also are sold through her salon in Manhattan.

Inatome makes her home in Tribeca, N.Y., but she often visits Long Island. Her mother_s restaurant, the Inatome Steak House in Valley Stream, N.Y., has been a local favorite for nearly 30 years.

In recognition of her illustrious career, Inatome will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from C.W. Post during commencement ceremonies held on Sunday, May 9, 2004. She will be honored along with two other successful C.W. Post graduates: John J. Hock ('72 marketing, '78 M.B.A.), executive vice president and head of global sales, Tremont Capital Management, Inc. in Rye, New York; and Richard P. Nespola (’67 business administration, ’73 M.B.A.), chairman and CEO of The Management Network Group, Inc., with corporate headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented to C.W. Post graduates who have achieved professional success and who serve as role models to students.

More than 2,500 students will graduate at C.W. Post’s 46th annual commencement exercises. The commencement speaker is New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has been named "Crusader of the Year" by Time magazine.