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Yulia Suvorova ’20, Sustainable Fashion
Suvorova’s mother taught her how to sew when she was young, and Yulia immediately developed a love for creating clothing. When she applied to colleges, the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) was an obvious choice. However, in the process of studying design at FIT, Suvorova learned that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Although she grew up in Russia where she found that little care goes into environmental concerns, her father, a scientist, taught her to protect and preserve nature. When she later moved to Canada, she was positively influenced by the strong Canadian environmental focus.
Suvorova transferred to UMass Amherst and built her own major through BDIC, that incorporates fashion with sustainability. In her course plan, Suvorova is including management and environmental and material science. She is passionate about fashion, but also passionate about preserving the environment. She hopes that the knowledge acquired while studying at FIT and UMass will help her develop approaches to make the lifecycle of a garment, from the production of fibers to the reutilization of clothing waste, more environmentally friendly.
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Ashley Olafsen ’19, Empowerment Through Education
You may have read about Ashley Olafsen in last year’s newsletter when we announced her winning the Maia Felisse McDermott Scholarship. Olafsen is a one-of-a-kind student committed to promoting social change and empowering others. Every facet of her life is somehow involved with those efforts. She has published two books: Survival of the Prettiest, and Life Hacks with Ash: The Book for Entrepreneurial Creatives. She contributes regularly to the Huffington Post. At the age of 15, she founded MOVE (Motivate. Overcome. Value. Empower.), an organization that promotes self-confidence among tween and teen girls. She is an experienced public speaker, as well as author. Most recently, she has become an entrepreneur working with the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship at the Isenberg School of Management. Earlier this summer, she turned her popular MOVE workshops into an online video series.
View Ashley's work at http://ashleyolafsen.com
