This week, Precollege Programs had the opportunity to speak with FIT undergraduate student and Precollege alum, Cecily Moore! Cecily was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri then moved to Providence, Rhode Island during High School. She completed her AAS in Fashion Design at FIT and is expected to graduate in May 2013 with her BFA (also in Fashion Design) with a double minor in History of Art and Psychology.

Cecily is currently involved in FIT’s Student Ambassadors and the assistant coaching staff for FIT Volleyball, and was a previous Vice President of the AAS Honor Society, Phi Theta Kappa.

Exhibitions/Awards/Scholarships/Recognition/Experience:

• National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DIII Region XV Volleyball
• All-Region (2009 and 2010) and All-Tournament Team (2009)
• Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society (2009-2011)
• Dean’s List (All Semesters)
• FIT Foundation Scholarship (2010-2011)
• Selected for appearance in FIT recruitment video (2011-2012)
• Monohasset Mill Artists Open Studio (2007, 2009)
• Fashion Week Volunteer (2009)
• Fitness Center Attendant at FIT 2011-Present

Courses taken in Precollege Programs:

HPM 067: Manual Patternmaking and Sewing
HAP 026: Sewing for Fashion Designers

Precollege Programs: What is your fondest memory of Precollege Programs?
Cecily: I really enjoyed finally having the opportunity to meet friends really driven and interested in the areas of art and fashion that I was. In my small high school there was no one else who shared that connection to fashion design, so it was wonderful to be able to share both class time, lunch time, and after class adventures with new found friends who had a lot of the same interests I did. My clearest memory was weeping as I said goodbye to my new found friend Akela as he boarded the 1 train, I will never forget the day my Summer Precollege Program ended. Akela and I have stayed in touch since then though so it wasn’t “goodbye” but “see you later!”

 

Precollege Programs: Any other memories about Precollege  that you’d like to share?
Cecily: On the last day of my classes, all the students began to cry and hug each other and we gathered round the classroom to get a huge group picture of all our new friends, these pictures, and the friends I made throughout my experience here at FIT Summer Live have stayed with me to this day. When I look back through the pictures we took that summer, they still bring me a warm fuzzy feeling, something that can only come from the realization that I had a life-changing experience here that summer, one that helped me grow into the person and designer I am today.

 

Precollege Programs: At what  moment did you decide FIT was your college of choice?
Cecily:  It kind of all came together at different times for me, but the moment I began to dream about FIT was my sophomore year of high school before I had even moved to Rhode Island or had been to New York City when one of my closest friends started telling me about this amazing design school in the heart of the city named the Fashion Institute of Technology. Immediately after school, I ran home and googled FIT and explored their website for hours, and I was hooked. From then on it was my dream school which was only further solidified by my excellent Precollege experience, the cost of tuition, and the fact that FIT has a Volleyball team, which was very important in my college making decision.

 

Precollege Programs: What advantages did you gain from Precollege courses?
Cecily:  I strongly agree that taking a Precollege course gave me an advantage over other students admitted to FIT. It’s something that gives you confidence and ease as you step onto the campus. You already know where your classrooms, the library, cafeteria and bookstore are located when you arrive, and you are comfortable with the machinery inside the classrooms. So all you have to worry about is the first assignments you get, and making friends in your block, the basic college experience, instead of feeling lost and overwhelmed; and that doesn’t even touch on the technical abilities that it starts you off with as well! Being previously exposed to professors, classrooms, sewing machines and techniques all before being admitted gives you a better head about attending the Institute and really succeeding in your classes here.

 

Precollege Programs: How is college different than you previously  imagined back when you were in high school?
Cecily: College actually isn’t that different than I imagined, a few more sleepless nights and coffee runs than I would have expected, but the people, professors and classes have panned out similarly to how I expected. My rigorous high school courses and being the youngest sibling to watch my older sister go through college helped prepare me with a realistic college picture, and Summer Live helped to further form the picture I had of an design college prior to attending FIT.

 

Precollege Programs: Are there any specific learned traits from your days as a Precollege student that really hit home with you? Was something said by an instructor, for example, that remains with you today?
Cecily: Draping and Patternmaking were two skills that were very difficult to develop and grasp on my own as a high school student, so those are topics that I touched on with my Summer Live Program, as well as a Sewing class to get used to the industrial machines here, and better hone in on those skills. The process of draping really hit home for me in my Precollege days because my professor took the time to drill every step and procedure into my head, something that I was able to take home and replicate when I wanted to make my Prom dress and other formal dresses. Without that experience, I never would have had the confidence to tackle such intricate garments on my own.

I also vividly remember my sewing professors bubbly and energetic attitude in every summer class, and I ended up having her in my BFA as a professor again, and was delighted to see that she remembered my face! It was lovely to have a firsthand experience of the professors here really taking care of and getting to know the Precollege students they have.

 

Precollege Programs: What advice do you have for Precollege students?
Cecily: Take your classes here seriously, and really absorb everything the professors teach you because it really will serve you well in your future endeavors. Besides, you never know who you may see in the future, and it’s better to establish a professional and working relationship with every person you come across, they could save your grade, or job some day.

CURRENT WORK: