Mentorship Series #1
The following post was written by Year One Fellow Jessica Wilkerson, who attended Parson’s Academy and is currently a part of our Mentorship Program.
“Hi, my name is Jessica Wilkerson, I am 18 and I live in Brownsville; Brooklyn, New York.”
"Currently, I am a senior at the High School of Fashion Industries. In school, I am surrounded by many creative minds in fashion, art, business, and photography. Many of my friends are art majors, but I grew a little family in my fashion class. I am a passionate, social, and determined scholar who cares deeply about different aspects of fashion. Next to fashion, I am trying to get into journalism and blogging. I am someone who has an extensive mind for learning. My focus in life is to develop different skills in different fields so that I am aware of every little thing, especially in the fashion industry. I always challenge myself with school and I always go above and beyond. My goal in the future is to attend college or apply to internships that put me in the direction of pursuing my dream of becoming an entrepreneur. I want to be pushed in a direction where I can have a better understanding of the construction of fashion design/business. How things are made, where they come from, and why things are the way they are? What I am looking forward to is having more knowledge and guidance with fashion, business, portfolio, and resume development."
"I have been exploring my curiosity of fashion through CWC's Mentorship Program. My experience within the program so far is extremely exciting and informative! I was paired with Kate Wallace and truthfully so far, I enjoyed every session with her. Within the program, during my time working on my college portfolio, she gave me advice on how to improve. She gave me this helpful drawing exercise to improve body movement in my illustrations. Believe me when I say a week doing the exercise has strengthened my illustration and I am extremely grateful. Whenever talking or working with Kate she helps with examples and visuals. For example, we shared portfolio work and mood boards. Another thing she did was introduce me to other designers.”
”I am extremely grateful for this opportunity of becoming a mentee this year to improve my skills and knowledge of the foundations of design. All designs and companies hold purpose. My reason for being an Entrepreneur is to help change and gain awareness for plus-size women. For many years, I have witnessed people around me feel worthless because of their size and weight. Many would deny the dislike of it, but we are aware of the bias in this world. Well, a good amount of us know. I was not completely aware of being judged until my old friends and sometimes family members reminded me of my weight. They would joke and needle the idea that I am a problem in society. Although their intention was not to purposely hurt me, society has conditioned us all to see size as an issue that we can never ignore. I have met and related to many women with this issue and decided to take action. I plan to take advantage of myself being a fashion designer and use my skills to design for curvy women. My purpose is to revise the negative outlook on curvy women. I will create clothing, accessories and open online and physical stores that give a large number of options for plus-size women. It has also come to my attention that there are people in need of future reliable bags. Due to being a bag lover and future entrepreneur, I will create bags that benefit women when traveling, at school, and at work. I will devote my time to planning and sewing. Kate once again taught me the importance of having a team, so I will build connection. I feel taking this action will help build a strong business at a young age. So far this program with the help of Kate is pushing me in the right direction and I am looking forward to learning more from her!”
