My Education

      I graduated with my Bachelor's of Science from Central Washington University, majoring in Apparel, Textiles, & Merchandising (ATM) and minoring in apparel design. The skills I've learned in the ATM program have given me focus in terms of my aspirations. Having been taught a wide variety of the apparel industry's aspects, ranging from fashion history and apparel design to digital presentation techniques and merchandising, I've become more knowledgeable about what potential paths I see myself taking in the industry. Being able to meet and/or work with other students in the program, my professors, and other professionals in fashion has helped me understand that there is no one way to obtain your goals. I'm now more aware of the vast amount of opportunities open to me as I hone my skills and begin to zero in on what I want my career and life to be.

 

 

Personal Strengths

      One of the more important things I've learned in the ATM program was what my personal strengths are and how to use them in a professional workplace. One of my strengths lies in my passion for creating. I have a very active imagination and am able to picture outfits, accessories, etc., in my head without anything in front of me. This helps when I'm deciding what kinds of clothing I wish to make. This creative drive leads me to have a strong desire to learn and try to stay informed on politics, scientific discoveries, and other news. This enthusiasm for knowledge also ties into how I am able to look at the world around me and take inspiration from the goings-on of life. I observe fashion trends, history, culture, science, music, the arts, and I draw my ideas from subjects that truly inspire me. Since I began studying fashion at CWU, I've tried to improve my time management. I've gradually improved it, adding efficiency to the dedication I put into making my work a reality. As somebody who has experience with customer service and employee cooperation, I am able to work well in groups and typically get along with people very easily. I also do my best to remain flexible with my schedule and with expectations, should something come up. This comes in handy when working with other students, coworkers, and when working for employers. I am reasonably able when it comes to fashion sketching and illustrating, but I still wish to improve further and practice other artistic mediums that can be intertwined with fashion as well. 

 

Personal Values

      Values are a significant part of who you are as a person. They play a crucial role in determining how you choose to live your life and what gives it meaning. How I was brought up and where I come from has shaped me into who I am now. I was raised by my mother and grandmother, who taught me about life and helped shape my views as I grew. And while we may share a great deal in the way of our principles, I am my own person with my own perspectives. I have a great many values, but the ones I find most important are loyalty, integrity, creativity, flexibility, and kindness. In addition to my primary values, I endeavor to find a better balance in the stressful aspects of my life, while maintaining it in the more ordered ones. Part of this includes remembering to appreciate the good things around me, be it nature, art, music, friends, or family. Each of these values acts as a compass, to let me know if my life is headed in a direction I'm happy with. If I'm not content with the way each one is pointing, I can simply change course and decide what in my life needs altering so that I can be satisfied with it and who I am as a person.

 

 

Technical Knowledge

      With the substantial range of skills I learned through the Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising program, I feel prepared to enter the apparel industry. Having taken a course on digital presentation techniques, I gained efficiency in the Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator applications. In the courses related to fashion design, I learned flat patterning, draping, technical advanced sewing skills, and fashion sketching. Because of this, I was able to produce three clothing lines for the annual Central Washington University fashion show. One in 2017, another in 2018, and the latest in 2019. In a course revolving around textiles, I learned about fiber,  thread, weave, knit, and fabric identification, fabric care, and textiles production. I learned a lot about social compliance, the cultural aspects that are tied into different apparel items across the globe, and the history and evolution of fashion itself from sociocultural aspects of fashion and history of fashion. I was also instructed in the more business intensive aspects of the apparel industry in classes like buying and merchandising math, merchandising buying and planning, apparel manufacturing, and principles of retailing. Each of these courses went in-depth into the financial, societal, and psychological parts of the industry, and how each function.

      The knowledge I've gained in every one of the courses I've taken have helped me begin to shape my creativity into achievable career goals. I have the skills and procedural understanding required to make my own collections. As a future professional in either fashion or costume design (perhaps both), I have a satisfactory amount of knowledge into the industry from the business to design and technical sides. I plan on expanding it further by learning more about different apparel and accessory item designs I have yet to sew, experimenting with different fabrics that I have yet to encounter, and challenging myself to become more skilled in fashion illustration.