Her Story
About Maria
I've been interested in fashion since I was a little girl and have always been creative. I actually always thought I would be a teacher, specifically a home ec teacher, but I ended up going to fashion school instead. My career in the fashion industry took off, and I loved it. I had planned to do it my whole life and thought I might teach later on down the road. I was a technical designer for 12 years, working at Abercrombie & Fitch on the Hollister brand, and then I relocated and worked for a company called Workwear Outfitters. There I worked on all the government uniforms and did technical design for all the government contracts, including TSA, FBI, and Custom Border Patrol. That was something very different than the fashion world, and it taught me a whole new world to the fashion and clothing and apparel industry. Between my fashion work and the technical side of it, I got a really broad range of information. Honestly, I fell into teaching. There was a local university that needed an adjunct professor, and at the time they were looking for someone that could potentially replace a full-time professor who was going to be retiring. Long story short, it ended up happening a lot sooner than anyone ever planned, and they offered me a position, and I just couldn't turn it down. It's been an awesome experience. I'm about a year in now, and I feel like I've been very successful so far. I've been extremely happy with how it's been going, and I see the students thriving. My seniors are doing incredible and getting job interviews, and hopefully jobs coming up soon with graduation coming up. That's been some of the most rewarding work that I've done so far.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Maria
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a lot of things. My family and my values are a big thing, and my work ethic, but I get that from my family and my values. I was a Division I athlete in college, so I think a lot of my values come from that and my family. Honestly, my dad really pushed me growing up in sports and in academics. The discipline and work ethic from being a Division I athlete have definitely shaped who I am professionally. Those experiences taught me how to work hard and stay committed, which has carried through into my career in fashion and now in education.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice for someone that's wanting to do it, or walking through it, is just to say yes to everything, and to do it all, because there's so many opportunities in the fashion industry that people don't know about, and you don't know what you don't know. If you don't try it, you won't know if you don't like it. I tell all my students to say yes, to do it, and to try it, because the worst that can happen is you find out that it's not what you want to do. But you might find out that it is what you love, and you might be able to make a career out of it. So I just tell everyone to try it and to say yes to everything.
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