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Editorial: Why I’m an apparel merchandising and design major

Ashley Karnowski,
Grand Central Magazine

Ashley Karnowski works on making a jacket from material she bought while studying abroad in Italy last summer. Karnowski has been working on it in her spare time, and is looking forward to completing it because the materials were more expensive than what she usually buys. Photograph by Sarah Miller
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I can still remember calling my parents after signing my major in apparel merchandising and design the first semester of my freshman year. I was thrilled and saw a new road ahead of me. Meanwhile they saw flashing lights with the words ‘yield ahead’. I knew what I wanted, but they thought they knew better.

They didn’t see art and design as a “real” major. At first I was disappointed, which caused me to second-guess my decision. But I wanted to show them I knew what I was doing when I made my own decisions.

Knowing my major going into college was important to me because I wanted to begin working towards it as soon as possible so I could graduate in four years. I had always been intrigued by art and fashion, so I researched the major. Then, one day during my senior year of high school, I picked up the Flint Journal and read an article about a Central Michigan University student in apparel design.

This student had created a thermal shirt for running while using the body scanner that’s available on campus. It excited me to see design students making a name for CMU by not only researching design trends and creating something nice to look at, but also creating a garment that could improve someone’s health. When I finished the article, I was sold on AMD.

While pursuing this major, I have learned how to sew, sketch, create patterns and see how the fashion industry operates. But I’ve also learned many lessons about planning, time management, working as a team and sacrificing social time for hours spent in the lab.

Approaching my senior year, I am just as excited as I was the day I signed my major. And I’ve proven to my parents that this major is not pointless. I love apparel merchandising – especially design – because it allows me to be creative; to be constantly learning something new; and to make something out of nothing. It’s important for me to be happy in my career, and I know I can find that graduating with AMD.

This major has given me opportunities to better myself in ways I never realized as a freshman. Last summer I had the opportunity to study in Italy and it was a life-changing experience. It opened my eyes to all of the career choices I have and made me appreciate how much I love communicating my views, ideas and emotions into art.

While I was in class, I looked around at all of my classmates and realized I was the only person from the United States. It was then that I felt a sense of pride for forcing myself to travel across the world, outside of my comfort zone and try something new. And I loved every minute of what I was doing and learning in Italy. Being in this major has certainly taught me many things about the fashion industry and even more about myself.

I know I’ll be OK when I graduate with an apparel merchandising and design degree, because as long as people are wearing clothes (and my mom continues needing her pants hemmed), I will always have a job.