Continuing My Journey with CWC
By CWC Fellow Aja King
Hi! My name is Aja King, I’m from Brooklyn and I am a junior at The High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan.
My ambition lies in using my creativity in fashion and art to impact my community and create change for the future. Through bringing others up with our successes we can build generational wealth and knowledge around business and how to manage ourselves.
Last year I applied to Creatives Want Change and got matched with RISD. It was my first experience in college art and design classes. My time management was tested during the two sessions that took place and it was a great experience.
I continued my journey with CWC and was matched with a mentor. Her name is Amy Romanowsky, a Vice President at J.Crew. She has given me a lot of insight into the behind the scenes of the fashion design world. She has taught me things from the perspective of a commercial company, like J.Crew.
During our meetings we connected and have had well balanced conversations about life and career. Recently I was able to go to her office and meet her in-person, as well as meeting many of the teams in J.Crew’s women’s apparel department. I was able to sit in on meetings and walk through a day in her life at the office. During this time I also gained advice and contact information from the people I met in the office, they welcomed contacting them later.
Amy continues to present me with any opportunities she comes across that would be good for me. She finds them with companies she works with. We have made plans to keep in contact beyond the official end of the mentorship program at CWC!
Creatives Want Change is a great opportunity my school introduced me to last year and it was one of my greatest decisions all year. I can’t wait to submit my application for this year as well and continue this amazing journey!
“I focused on my love for reading, mythology and fiction in general. This took on the idea of the three fates, thus three aspects of my identity and my string of fate.My connection to Yoruban mythology through my name, “forest goddess” and my favorite greek god, Apollo come through the bright greens and yellows. I represent my nerdy aspect through the left side in addition to me centering myself on being a straight A student.”
