I had the honor and privilege of becoming a teacher at the High School of Fashion Industries… just for a day! You can imagine my excitement upon getting the invitation, an opportunity to check “high school teacher” off my bucketlist! I’ve always wanted the opportunity to share my career path in life with young minds, the future leaders of business, politics, fashion and like minded individuals, besides my own young kids of course.
When a board member, Robert Di Mauro reached out to me about participating in the 38th Annual J.J. Thomas Career Day program sponsored by the NYC Mayor and Department of Education at the High School of Fashion Industries, I was in heaven! Teaching others has always been high on my list. Our day began with a mix-and-mingle, breakfast with other guest teachers, faculty members, and Advisory Board, spearheaded by school Principal Daryl Blank.
Other notable industry leaders on hand to share their expertise in various fields such fashion design, fashion marketing & management, art & design, visual communication, photography, and software development, were Constance White, Epperson, Harriette Cole, Patti Carpenter, Deborah Hughes, Keli Goff, et.al. Each of us were assigned individual classrooms. Some came with props, samples of their trades and crafts, etc. I brought along with me one of my coveted shoe shaped handbags, to use in teaching the students the art of craftsmanship, fashion business and protecting their creations using intellectual property. I also focused on fashion publishing and what goes into brand promotion and marketing using my own personal experiences and the valuable results attained.
My assigned class was filled with engaged and like minded students who were eager to learn from my world of business school to banking, music and fashion modeling & publishing. When a faculty member annouced through the building’s speaker to start wrapping up the session, the students asked their homeroom teacher to block out the noise, declaring they weren’t ready to end the class! I felt very touched! Who knew teaching could be so much fun! The whole experience gave me so much joy. The reaction and enthusiasm of the students made it all seem like a dream job. Perhaps, I did miss my calling of being a high school teacher. 😃
High School Principal Daryl Blank
Robert Di Mauro, Epperson, Keli Goff, Harriette Cole and Tinu
Constance White
Deborah Hughes
Some of my classroom students
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