My Motivation to Study at The Fashion Institute of Technology

Reflecting on my childhood, it's clear that my passion for fashion and design, a seed that would eventually lead me towards the Fashion Institute of Technology, was evident from an early age. I spent countless hours in the world of dress-up, effortlessly shifting roles from a princess to a doctor, a chef, or a model. My dolls, the first recipients of my budding design instincts, were never left in their original state. They underwent dramatic makeovers - a snip here, a new outfit there - ultimately culminating in fashion shows to showcase their fresh, innovative looks. At the time, this was more than play; it was the beginning of a lifelong journey in fashion.

As I got older, fashion began to interest me even more and eventually became an addiction. I would spend hours looking through fashion blogs, and reading through stacks of fashion magazines. By the time I reached my freshman year of high school, I knew the fashion industry was where I wanted to be in life. I was hooked.

Entering high school with the goal of being in the fashion industry one day, I took as many fashion related classes that I could. In 10th grade, I was able to take the first one of these classes, which was an introductory course to fashion. This was one of my favorite classes of the entire year and through this class, I was able to put the skills that I learned to use and participate in a service project for sewing tote bags for the homeless. It was great using fashion to not only help someone in the practical way of them having something to carry their things in, but also in the sense that it would be something new for them, something that could make them feel stylish in what would be a very difficult time in their life. After having such a good experience in this class, I wanted to take another. My junior year of high school, I was able to take Fashion Merchandising. I looked forward to going to this class every day as what we were learning, and the projects that we did were so enjoyable. This is where I realized that I wanted a job specifically in fashion merchandising.

The Fashion Merchandising Management program at Fashion Institude of Technology is a very rigorous program, requiring a variety of different characteristics to succeed in the program, with one of them being a strong work ethic, which I have prepared myself for through my challenging course load that I have had throughout high school. Beginning during my freshman year of high school, I have always taken the most difficult classes that were available to me. My junior year, I was able to take 3 Advanced Placement classes and I am taking 7 Advanced Placement classes currently, during my senior year. One of the Advanced Placement classes that I am taking this year is AP French. I am not only taking this class because of my love of the French language, but also because I believe that it will be a beneficial skill to be able to speak another language in the fashion industry. I hope to be fluent in French by the end of this course and it will help me to be able to understand not only the language, but the culture of a variety of different people and potential employers throughout the fashion industry and to not be disrespectful in expecting them to already know English. I have also been a part of the French Club at my high school, taking on different leadership roles such as Secretary and Vice President. This characteristic of leadership will help me to better succeed in this program, especially when working with a group. I also believe that my years in gymnastics have contributed to my strong work ethic and team work skills. Being a competitive gymnast for 4 years, I would have to train in the gym for hours to perfect the skills I was working on for meets. At meets my teammates and I would support each other, so that we would be able to perform to the best of our abilities. This has shown me that any goal in achievable, as long as you put in the time and effort needed to get there.

To conclude the essay, the admission to the Fashion Merchandising Management program will offer me countless opportunities to be prepared for a career in fashion merchandising through networking with industry executives, the invaluable skills that I will learn about the industry, and the amazing study abroad opportunities. Eventually, I dream of being able to be a top executive in the fashion merchandising field, and being a part of this program at FIT is a crucial step in this process.