Insight into the Accessory Design, Development & Merchandising Course from a past student turned TA

I had the pleasure to interview Maddison, who took the course TXA365 Accessory and Design, Development, and Merchandising and is now the Teacher Assistant for the course.

During our interview, Maddy continued to reiterate how much the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute focuses heavily on leadership and teamwork. She mentioned that the professor, Jessica Ciarla, taught her how to think outside the box as a designer and be comfortable being uncomfortable. This leads me to mention her favorite part of the course, the end of the year project, The Design Brief, where she got the chance to build teamwork skills by creating a 5-piece collection for Kendra Scott. She had the role as a team leader where she was able to “understand how to effectively work with others by finding different ways to encourage and critique”.

During our interview, Maddy couldn’t stop gloating about the Kendra Scott WEL Institute. Even when I asked her if she had any complaints or changes she would make, she suggested that she wanted to see how the products are produced and marketed. As a Student Advisory Board Member of the Kendra Scott WEL Institute, this made me smile because I was happy that another young woman was enjoying themselves and felt empowered at the Kendra Scott WEL Institute, as I am too. Maddy also suggested that it is a great class to take if you are looking into starting your own business but not extremely grueling. As this class was during the fall 2020 semester, it was completely online because of COVID-19 so she mentioned that she would have loved to experience the class in person. But, as the TA of the course now, she is enjoying having a higher team leader position and offering a well-rounded in-person learning experience from the course.