FIDM International Students

Meet Fashion Design Major Juliana Ponce de Leon from Canada

Name: Juliana Ponce de Leon

Country of Origin: Canada

Other college if applicable: Palazzo Spinelli Instituto Per L'Arte e il Restauro (Florence, Italy)
 
Major: Fashion Design
 
Campus: Los Angeles
 
Tell us a little about yourself:  I was actually born in Bogota, Colombia but moved to Vancouver, Canada when I was only five years old. As I was introduced to a whole new world I made lifelong friends, learned two more languages, became a regular snowboarder, and developed my love of the arts. At age fifteen my family and I moved to Florida where the environment was the polar opposite. Apart from having to start an entire new life, studying at a new high school, making new friends, and adapting to the weather, I was completely cut off from the Canadian life that included mountain hiking, ketchup chips and snowboarding.  I then concentrated on my love of the arts. I applied for a summer program at Palzzo Spinelli Instituto Per L'Atre e il Restauro in Florence, Italy in 2006. I was accepted and moved to Europe for the summer. There, my eyes were opened to the other great possibilities this world had to offer. Seeing things with one’s own eyes are very different than seeing things through the television or through pictures. Somehow all those years of studying and surveying European art and architecture, became suddenly so alive. And that is when I fell in love with fashion and the inexplicable freedom it gives an individual towards expressing themselves to the world. You could probably call me an old soul.
 
How did you find out about FIDM? I actually found out about FIDM through Google. I was initially going to go to Syracuse University in New York for law. But I had an epiphany a couple of months before and decided to take a chance and do something that I loved. Syracuse was safe and LA was an unknown future.
 
What made you decide to apply to FIDM? Apart from my advisor Jim Bontemp's advice, I thought back at the time when I was studying art in Florence. We went to a fashion show in Milan for the weekend where i fell in love with the energy.
 
How did you choose your major? I had always loved making things with my hands, especially things that were affiliated with a creative base. I had picked Product Development because I didn’t have a crisp idea of what I eventually wanted to do. But in the midst of the application process, I switched majors.
 
What was the hardest thing about moving to L.A.? The hardest thing about moving was leaving my family and the secure environment they gave me. Also, I didn’t know anyone.
 
What has been the best thing about moving to L.A.? Apart from actually beginning my life and career, I found my three best friends. We became a family and I acquired sisters that I never had.
 
Have you made friends at FIDM? The weird thing is that I started with no friends, then had a huge group, then ended up with a perfect small group. We are all so different yet we perfectly blend together. My three best friends and I moved out of student housing, and now live in a very homey apartment building that has an amazing Mediterranean vibe.
 
What are your short term career goals? I want to get an internship at a fashion house while I am still here at FIDM. Hopefully I get to expand my network and learn more of the trade. I also am hoping to get accepted into the third year program here at FIDM. After the third year, I am moving to London or Paris to continue my studies at Instituto Marangoni.
 
What is your ultimate dream after graduating from FIDM? My ultimate dream is to move to Paris and work for Chanel Couture. Then in my later years I want to start my own line.
 
What inspires you? My biggest inspiration is elegance. I want to bring back beauty and detail to people’s life. Chanel’s classic simplicity and Calvin Klein’s perfect tailoring are the biggest factors in my creations. As I am obsessed with history, I take bits and pieces from many of my favourite eras when I am designing garments. Let the sophisticated and feminine woman shine again!
 
What's one tip you would give an international student thinking about applying to FIDM? Never let your past dictate your future. If you really set your mind to it you can overcome anything. I have moved so many times in my life and every new place is an adventure that will not only open up your view of the world, but strengthen you for life. Don’t regret rejecting the blessings that life gives you. FIDM has helped me in deciding what I want for my future. And now I know exactly what I want and am doing everything to get it.

Adjusting to College In Another Country by Namita Seksria

This is the first time ever that I've studied in a school outside my country and without my parents being around. Obviously, being in a different country and school I had to go through a lot of adjustments, some easier than others.

When I joined FIDM, I realized that there is a big difference between the education system here compared to India, my home country. Initially it took time for me to understand how things work here--like in India we don’t have to register for classes. In fact, we were not given the option of choosing our classes, and there was no quarter system like we have at FIDM. In India we have pre-decided classes and the same schedule is given to all the students to follow throughout the year. So getting accustomed to a quarter system took time. Since here we just have 10 weeks to finish the classes we registered for, I had to be on my toes 24/7 and prepared all the time as there could be pop up quizzes. But gradually I started liking this system; studying a subject for ten weeks only keeps it from getting dry or boring when compared to studying the same subjects throughout the year.

Also, in my school in India, we were same bunch of students in all the classes throughout the year. Now, this being a new country where I hardly knew anybody and I saw different students in every class I registered for, I had anxiety about how I would make friends. It is a rare chance that I see same student in another class. But with time I realized it works out better this way and I got to make more friends than I would have made otherwise.

Also, in India we address our professors by calling them “Sir” or “Mam.” My friends had told me that here in the U.S. we address professors by their last name. But I was so use to calling them Sir and Mam that, trust me, it took a really long for me to address professors by their name with ease. Every time I had to ask something in the class I was super careful as “Sir or Mam” was right there in my mouth. But gradually I got used to it. Also, in India professors are not very friendly and casual as compared to the professors here in FIDM, and it was a pleasant change to see students here could share and say anything they liked in front of the professors without worrying what will he or she think; a democratic country in a real sense. Also, here the professors are very accessible most of the time through phone or email and are very helpful. And I am saying this out of experience; every time I had a problem with my assignments I use to shoot an email to the professor and in a day or two maximum most of them got back to me.

Finally, here we have career advisors, student advisors, academic advisors, and personal counselors to help every student with anything they need. FIDM provides an amazingly helpful atmosphere; therefore, little adjustments came very easy to me.

Namita is an Apparel Industry Management student. Read our interview with her to learn more.

Meet Apparel Industry Management Major Namita Seksria from India

Name: Namita Seksria

Country of origin: India

Previous college experience: B.com from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, India. Thereafter I acquired my three years diploma in Dress Designing and Garment Manufacturing from Sophia Polytechnic in Mumbai, India

Major: Apparel Industry Management

Campus:  Los Angeles

Tell us a little about yourself:  I have always been a fashion lover. Since I was a kid I liked dressing the way I liked. Before I took fashion as a serious profession, I wanted a bachelors degree in commerce so that I would have a basic knowledge of how everything works, and what’s going around, and also it would give me time to mature enough before I got into professional studies. So I did B.com from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, India. Thereafter I acquired my three years diploma in Dress Designing and Garment Manufacturing from Sophia Polytechnic in Mumbai, India. Along with my school I assisted a couple of renowned fashion stylists and worked on various projects. After I finished school I worked for a year as a Designer and a Production Manager for a company.  So that I could gain more experience in the field I also started my label called “Flambe” along with my friend. We exhibited our clothes and had our own clientele. Soon I realized that I need to know more about the industry in terms of fashion, trade, and how to manage the whole company. And here I am in FIDM Los Angeles Majoring in Apparel Manufacturing Management.

Describe your previous employment:  My previous workplace was Asia’s largest  textile digital printing company called Krishna Alkali (Bom) Pvt Ltd. It had a label named “Masala Works” which produced digital printed garments for high end stores all over India. I had the responsibility to create the whole line of collection for “Masala Works”  from concept building, creating prints on Photoshop, print sampling, garment sampling, and finally to the entire production for all the stores.

How did you find out about FIDM? I wanted to live in Los Angeles as my fiancé then and now husband lives here. I researched online all the schools offering courses in fashion. It was then I came across FIDM.

What made you decide to apply to FIDM? Researching more from various sources I was convinced FIDM is the best fashion school in the west coast of the U.S.A. Also, it offered variety of majors to choose from. After I took the entire tour to school, I knew this is where I wanted to study. It looked like a fashion school-- Amazing interiors, updated infrastructure, massive library, and fashionable students. I felt yes I have arrived at the right place.

How did you choose your major? Well choosing the major was not very difficult. Since I was familiar with the creative side of the fashion, I wanted to learn more about running my own company, and having my own clothing line. My Admissions Advisor was of a great help here. Knowing my interests, she suggested that I should take up Apparel Industry Management as my major; it exactly offers what I am looking for.

What was the hardest thing about moving to L.A.? Honestly, before this I had not studied anywhere outside my own country or for that matter away from my parents. For me the hardest thing was being away from my parents. Thanks to my husband and warm and helpful Californians, I feel so comfortable out here.

What has been the best thing about moving to L.A.? The best thing about L.A. is its weather and the people. Weather never gets too extreme. It is nice and sunny all round the year. Also, in L.A. you can find people from all around the world which gives a great opportunity to know people from different origins. It is in a real sense a cosmopolitan city and somehow I get the feeling of belonging here.

Have you made friends at FIDM? As other students even I was very nervous on the first day of school worrying about tons of things. Whether I’ll be able to make good friends out here or no? Will there be any common interests between the students from here and me? Will I have to face racism? Etc. But all went good.  The first day itself, I made couple of friends and gradually with various group activities given in the class it was not very difficult to make more friends. Also, I met many Indian students here which definitely comforted me.

What are your short term career goals? While in school I want to excel in all my classes, do great networking, work on the campus, and also gain as much knowledge as possible through various resources available.

What is your ultimate dream after graduating from FIDM? My ultimate dream is definitely to start my own company of contemporary clothing for women but before that for few years I would like to work for renowned fashion houses to gain expertise in my field.

What inspires you? Fabrics and colors inspire me.

What's one tip you would give an international student thinking about applying to FIDM?  One tip I would definitely like to give to a prospective student is that it’s very important to move out of one’s own country and witness fashion in another country. It not only broadens the horizon but also changes our perspective towards fashion, and helps us better understand of the term “ fashion” in itself. Also being an international student, it takes double the effort than the rest of the students here to create a niche for ourselves. So for students who are focused, and determined, and want a place in the fashion industry, FIDM is the place which offers the best of its resources to help you achieve your dreams.

Meet Beauty Major Yvonne Kai from Hong Kong

Name: Yvonne Kai

Country of origin: Hong Kong

Other college if applicable:  University of Western Ontario, Humber College
 
Major: Beauty Industry Marketing and Merchandising
 
Campus: LA
 
Tell us a little about yourself: I am a lifestyle blogger, a dog lover and a beauty fanatic!  I love Tokyo street fashion, my Blackberry, and always being connected.
 
How did you find out about FIDM? I came across the website and decided to look at the Professional Designation programs.
 
What made you decide to apply to FIDM? I had worked for several years after getting my BA and knew that I wanted to go back to school. I reached the point where I was no longer entry but also did not 'look' like management level because of my appearances. It was very frustrating and I looked into several MBA programs and post grad opportunities.  I came across FIDM by chance surfing the net and knew that it would give me a competitive edge by specializing in a niche industry like beauty.
 
How did you choose your major? I did the online survey and I read all the descriptions. I knew that I wanted to be work in the 'fashion world' but did not know what I would be especially good at. Once I got to know what the Beauty program was about, I knew I would do well it in and absolutely love it.
What was the hardest thing about moving to L.A.? The fact that I couldn't bring my friends, network and family!
 
What has been the best thing about moving to L.A.? Getting a taste of Cali and west coast life. 24/7 sunshine and the beach!
 
Was your family nervous, encouraging, all of the above? My family was excited for me to come to the US and see what it has to offer. My mom came with me to the FIDM tour and saw that it was a great place for me to continue my education. She has not only been tremendously supportive emotionally, financially and also truly believes in me!
 
Have you made friends since your move here? Yes! I have been so blessed to be surrounded by like-minded people at FIDM and I know every single person's name in my quarter in Beauty!  I have also stayed in contact with my instructors and really value their mentorship and advice.
 
What are your short term career goals? I am going to on FIDM's NY Beauty Study Tour and am very excited to make a good impression and get a great job in NYC in Beauty.
 
What is your ultimate dream after graduating from FIDM?  I am in the midst of creating my own cosmetic line!
 
What inspires you? Living your purpose, using your unique talents to create something tangible and of value, creating opportunities for others to realize their dreams. My blog is all about that: Hey DO YOU.
 
What's one tip you would give an international student thinking about applying to FIDM? When you are ready to make your dream a reality and honestly explore your potential and talents, apply to FIDM and soar with the eagles.