CTC showcases extended fashion program during open house

“This is the second time we are doing the College for Kids event combined with a CTC open house,” said Jocelyn Larkin, continuing education coordinator at CTC. “The fashion show gives College for Kids students the opportunity to showcase their creations. We are also going to have some students bring their robotics and show what they have been learning, and we have the dance team from CTC putting on a show.”

The fashion show featured designs created by young artists participating in the week-long Fashionista Design Course. Students displayed their handmade ensembles, including clothes and accessories such as jewelry and purses.

Another part of the fashion show was the latest collection of Schenk Couture, the label of fashion designer and CTC fashion instructor Miriam Schenk.

“Miriam Schenk is one of our new instructors, and she is going to start our fall classes for adults in pattern design, draping and sewing,” Larkin said. “Those classes will run all the way through spring, and we are working on extending our design program.”

There will also be a fashion club on campus.

“Other CTC students, such as fine arts students, can join the fashion club as well,” Larkin said.

One of the event’s highlights was the auction of a dress, which was designed by Schenk and painted by artist Oscar Fernandez, a CTC student and freelance illustrator.

“I met Miriam at a show,” Fernandez said. “After seeing my work, she offered to collab together. I’ve painted and drawn on jackets and shoes before.”

During the design process, Schenk was inspired by looking at bluebonnet fields. Fernandez continued this vision.

“All my work, no matter how small, always has a story behind them,” he said. “After seeing the dress and its beautiful silhouette, I knew I wanted to make something feminine. The waist has floral designs, and I wanted to keep the theme. The black represents darkness or negativity. The flowers are hope and beauty. That in the darkness, there is still beauty. Still hope.”

The open house portion of the event featured various CTC departments presenting their programs and offerings.

“All the different departments are showing what they are about on the upstairs level,” Larkin said. “We also have our table for continuing education. A big focus of our classes is Allied Health, which provides certifications that people can get quickly. They are vigorous classes, but we have scholarships available.”

Enchantra Thomas, an open house attendee from Killeen, was excited to get new information on available classes.

“I am here to re-explore,” she said. “It’s been years since I’ve been here, but when I talked to my academic advisor, she told me to come and look at what has changed, and it has definitely changed.”

Thomas was nervous about deciding on her future but curious to learn about different options.

“I am here to reevaluate myself, and I am slowly making a comeback,” she said. “Right now, I am doing general studies and figuring out what I want to do afterward. I am just here to see what they have and have them help me figure out what I want to do with my life.”

Besides spreading information, the organizers of the fashion show and open house aimed to raise money for the CTC foundation.

“Last year was really great,” Larking said. “We had all of our participants show up, had a good show, and raised $250 selling raffle tickets so we could give out a scholarship during our College for Kids Preview Day back in May.”

Besides the dress auction, this year’s event featured a raffle for student-created items, with tickets sold for $12 each. Proceeds from the raffle and auction will fund scholarships, continuing the CTC Foundation’s mission of supporting students through scholarships and other means.