What brought you to the International Academy of Design & Technology (the Academy)? I came to the Academy to fulfill my promise to my self that I would get a college degree. It took me over a year to commit to a school while I wavered between being practical and daring to even think about my inner dreams.

What was your background prior to attending the Academy? My children were almost grown, I was on my own and responsible to only myself for the first time in my life. A very good friend reminded me that I once wanted to be a costume designer, so, I thought about starting my own business. I researched business plans at the library and even wrote one for an accessory store. As I set about trying to implement that business plan, the same questions kept coming up, how do I find things at wholesale? How do the others do it? Where is the directory for business owners? I realized that I didn’t have any of the answers, but I knew they laid somewhere in the connections these businesses had with each other. Somebody always knew somebody. I had to get on the “inside” and school for me was the only way. My focus was to learn about every aspect of the fashion industry. I thought if I learned everything there was to the business, I could find a way to work in it, quit my customer service job, and have a career, while working on my own concepts and designs.

How did the Academy assist you in getting where you are today? I interned at a company called Brooks Sports as a technical intern. They have a lot of very creative people there and I was given the opportunity to work in several different areas of the production team. It really allowed me to see the overall picture of production even if I didn’t know all of it. On May 27, 2008 I got my first fashion related job as a Product developer/Production assistant at Rivers West Apparel, Inc. After seven months, I was promoted to Production Manager. I credit Laura Nielsen, Director of Career Services at the Academy for all her assistance in coaching me and sending me job leads; Laura credits my success to my tenacity in my job search, it was truly a collaborative effort. I knew I had to stay on top of my search, so I began with checking the positions on the My Careers page of the Academy’s Student portal about 4 months before I graduated. It helped me to know what employers were looking for which, in turn, helped me formulate my resume. Once I had that, I applied for some jobs and continued to apply while checking in with Laura every week. During my talks with Laura, I let her know that I was willing to look at any type of position. I had income restraints and knew there would be tough choices to make. She would send me leads, and one turned out to be the job opportunity at Rivers West working with their Director of Production, who also happened to work at Brooks Sports where I had my internship. That relationship, having the same company in common, went a long way in my favor. She has moved on, and I am currently the Production Manager at Rivers West getting ready to order production for our fall 2009 season.

What are you future goals? In the next five years, I expect the economy to have turned around making more fashion related opportunities available. I want my experience at Rivers West to propel me into working in either a design house or to launch my own business. To get there, I expect to earn another raise soon. When that happens, I will quit the part-time customer service job, and concentrate on my own sewing and designing. I want to be a part of the alumni association and continue to network with the business relationships I am developing. When the right opportunity opens up, I’ll be ready to jump right in to owning my own business.

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