As tears came to Natalie Jensen's eyes, she couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "I'm getting emotional just thinking about it," she said, referring to graduation. Jensen is a senior, majoring in apparel design and fashion promotions. She is also a student in Fashion Promotion 481, a capstone course for fashion students within the Family and Consumer Sciences Department.
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The class hosted BSU Fashion Weekend, a series of events showing the work of students in the fashion promotion class. The theme of the weekend was "From the Streetlights to the Spotlight." It began Friday with "Under the Streetlights," a runway show highlighting students' casual clothing. It continued on Saturday at Late Nite with clothing demonstrating Late Nite's theme, the seven deadly sins. On Sunday, it ended with "Under the Spotlight," which showcased the class's designs for formal wear.
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For many students like Jensen, Sunday didn't only conclude BSU Fashion Weekend; it also marked the end of their time at Ball Sate.
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"Counting down the days until I graduate, and now that I have 30-some days, I realize I'm not going to be with this faculty anymore," Jensen said. "I'm not going to be with this fashion family anymore. Kind of thinking that I may not get to see them - it's hitting me now more than it did before."
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Jensen said she attributes much of her confidence to the university.
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"Maybe I won't get my dream job right away, but [Ball State has] taught me where to start out and what the right path is to get where my dream career is," she said.
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Other students, including Angela Culp, have made their closest friends within the fashion program.
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"I have a few friends that I've grown really close to within the past couple of years," Culp, a senior apparel design major, said. "I'm crying just for the fact that it will all be over."
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Within the fashion promotion class, Culp said she became friends with many of her peers, despite trying to maintain a professional relationship.
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"I've grown closer to people that I haven't had very many classes with or had the opportunity to really talk to much before," she said.
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All of the designs in the weekend's fashion shows were student-made, and students organized the entire production. The class was a combined effort of students majoring in apparel design and fashion promotions.
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"I tend to only get to see the design students, so it's great to see the creativity of everybody," Jensen said. Jensen was also one of three main coordinators for the shows.
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Preparation for the productions included promoting the events and finding models, hairdressers, music and venues, as well as set design for the venues.
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Hard work is typical for students in this program, Culp said.
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"Things will get tough," she said. "I'm not going to sit here and lie about that, but when you push yourself and push the people around you, there's a lot of great things that come out of that that you wouldn't ever expect to be able to do."
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To other students in the program, she said, "Don't give up and always push forward."
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This advice has helped Culp in her own life.
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"With the support of others, there's definitely things that I wouldn't have tried for here at Ball State," she said. "Just having that support system has helped me finalize where I'm headed."
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Culp said after she graduates, she will intern at Anna Sui. Jensen has plans to intern at Navia Vision.
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Both said that because of their experiences at Ball State, they feel ready to enter the working world.
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Jensen has even worked for Diesel Black Gold at New York's Fashion Week.
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"I feel like I'm definitely prepared," Jensen said. "I'm not going to say that I'm amazing at everything, but I feel like the fashion department has really helped me to be able to go out there."
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