High school senior Maria Cardoza was not playing around when she decided her school in Bogota, Columbia, needed an official FIDM Fashion Club. Her strong vision inspired twenty like-minded students to join her. We recently caught up with Maria who shared her successful strategy and club goals with us.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where do you go to school and how did you get the FIDM Fashion Club started on your campus? I am seventeen-years-old and currently finishing my senior year of high school. I study at Gimnasio La Montana High School in Bogota, Colombia. I have always loved fashion and design, so when I found out that FIDM had a Fashion Club I knew my school needed one. I started by sending in the application, and once we were approved I made an activity list for the entire school year. I presented the idea to my school and they loved it, and so my Fashion Club began.
You were very fortunate to sign up twenty students when you started the club. How did you do it? Yes, I was very fortunate! I am a visual person, so I decided to make a video to introduce my club. The video had music, images, and even real-life clips of myself sewing and creating pieces. I sent the video to my entire high school inviting people to join. It worked! I feel the video inspired people to explore their creativity.
What are some of the projects you’ve been working on? We have made tote bags from scratch, and we are currently painting them based on a mood board I made earlier this school year.
What goals have you set for your club this school year? I have many goals for the club. First of all, I want to do a project on upcycling old clothes. I am big on sustainability and I want the club to have projects that help the environment. Second, I hope to produce a fashion show at the end of the school year, and invite my community. I want them to get inspired to really understand what our club is doing.
What has been a challenge for you as president of your club, and how did you overcome it? The biggest challenge I have faced as president of my club is to use time wisely. I have many ideas for new projects that I want the club to develop, but It is hard to manage time and do everything that is planned. I have overcome this challenge by dividing the time during meetings in order to accomplish what we need to do.
What advice would you offer someone who wishes to start a FIDM Fashion Club on his or her own campus? My main advice is to believe in yourself and know that you are capable of everything you want and desire. It is empowering to see things you want become reality, so keep going and work hard. It is important to organize your time. Also, it is important to plan your activities in advance so that you have everything ready for the meetings.
Anything else you’d like to share? Hobbies/new obsessions/etc. I am currently obsessed with recycled materials in order to produce garments.
Start an official FIDM Fashion Club at your high school or college at FashionClub.com/go/start.
