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Fashionista: Edana Hoehn

Senior in fashion design, DAAP

How did you choose UC and the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning?

When it came time to choose colleges, my top two were UC and a school in New York City. I’m from a very small town, so I didn’t think I’d handle the transition from small town to biggest city in America very well, plus I was drawn to DAAP because of the solid reputation among designers, as well as the good rankings for the fashion-design program and renowned faculty.

Has your scholarship been transformative in your life?

I was really concerned about financing my education. Besides allowing me to graduate with minimal debt, my scholarship allowed me to focus on excelling in the fashion-design program. It’s not uncommon for us to work in the studio until 2 or 3 in the morning after attending hours of class, even later if we’re close to deadline. So it would be very difficult to do that and hold a job.

It also gave me the freedom to explore working for multiple companies in different departments so I could find an ideal career path. A lot of us in the program look at co-op as a 10-week interview, but it’s also a great way to find out if you’re cut out for a particular line of work without pursuing a full-time job, then discovering you hate it.

How has UC transformed your life?

My background as a student at DAAP helped immensely in getting some amazing co-ops in the fashion industry because the company’s leaders know the reputation of DAAP and look at us as “sure things.” Getting hands-on experience, like the co-ops I had, was great because I gained a perspective on what I want to do full time and what sort of work/life balance I would have.

Some of the most prestigious jobs carried the longest hours and largest workloads, almost to the point where you wouldn’t have a social life. I know now that I don’t want to live at work, and co-oping helped me realize that without dampening my pursuit of a career in the industry.

What would you tell someone considering a gift to fund scholarships at UC?

Scholarships enable a lot of great things to happen. For some people, like me, they are the only way to attend college because the costs are simply too high otherwise. Not having a substantial debt obligation in the future also helps.

Without my scholarship support, I would have never gone from a small town like Delphos, Ohio, to all the places I’ve worked. I also doubt that just heading into my senior year, I would have such an amazing job opportunity lined up with Target after graduation. Knowing what that support did for me, I would absolutely encourage others to give to scholarships at UC.