My name is Zahria Grimes. I am an 18-year-old undergraduate attending North Carolina A&T State University majoring in Fashion Merchandising and Design. To me, an IT girl is a strong woman who is unapologetically themselves, and not afraid to advocate for themselves or others. An individual who strives for more. No matter what field, position, or goal they are committed to or are passionate about. An IT girl is someone who embraces themselves. Tamika Nurse writes about this in her inspiring novel, “The IT Girl Rules: It’s Getting Haute In Here”. Nurse writes about how self-love is an important value and how a person should love the body they have. That each of us reflects God’s masterful creation. That God loves everything about us, so we should love everything about us too. An IT girl looks out for others. Seeking not only the best for themselves, but also for the ones around them. I feel the values of an IT girl lie in community, empathy, passion, and drive. Rules I intend to apply to my fashion career are creating welcoming and inclusive environments in whatever position I hold. I want to help others embrace their creativity, to encourage evolution and growth throughout the industry. My career goals lie in the fashion merchandising and visual styling field. I aim to help create new looks, collect images and concepts for various brands and individuals. Bringing the art of fashion to life. My rules involve utilizing one’s individuality, respecting others and their craft, and welcoming everyone no matter their race, gender, size, economic standing, or background. I have overcome adversity by leaning on my art and form of self- expression. I have had to learn to trust myself. Using my fashion as an outlet for self-expression and creativity. I wish to impact my community in the future by bringing the beauty and versatility of fashion to different communities, especially low-income groups who can gain from resources and guidance. I want to help others learn more about the industry, and how to get involved so as to find themselves through fashion. I have pursued opportunities like this before. During my high school senior year, I had the opportunity to create and implement a Senior Year Passion Project. Alongside my partner, we created a non-profit called Dress It Up From A to Z. It was funded through a grant at my high school. My partner and I held pop-up boutiques during prom and homecoming seasons. We provided gently used and new dresses and accessories to teens in low-income communities. Our goal was to encourage self-esteem, acceptance, and body positivity in young teens. We encouraged the use of sustainable fashion by using inventory from thrifted stores and donations. We shared Tamika Nurse’s message of “Advocating dressing the person you are today”. This powerful message teaches us to not fit into other’s standards. To be happy with who you are today. I have always been focused on community service. Whether through my school, organizations, and especially my church. I have always wanted to incorporate service through my work. I feel I am an IT girl because of my compassion and drive to pursue my goals and help others accomplish theirs. My creativity and passion show through my work. Whether designing, styling, marketing, or creating content, I hope to make an impact on the fashion industry and its community.

This next chapter of my life is titled My Style, My Brand, My Way. My mission is to make a positive impact on people through fashion; to inspire them to follow their dreams despite barriers and challenges. Growing up, I admired my sister’s immense talent and passion for art. Her commitment to the pursuit of her art motivated me to set goals and pursue my dreams. Fashion has been significant in my life since early elementary. From creating designs in a sketchbook at age 10 to operating my first sewing machine at age 11, my love for fashion has soared. Just as my sister continues to inspire me, through fashion, I want to inspire others to explore their passions and work towards their goals. During high school I developed an interest in the business side of fashion including marketing, merchandising, and sustainable practices. In our society, clothing carries a lot of weight. How a person dresses can impact how they are perceived, which ultimately impacts other areas of their life academically, professionally, and socially. I strive to make the world of fashion more accessible to marginalized members of marginalized communities. Access to sustainably produced, economically affordable, and socially inclusive fashion should be available to all. I am passionate about helping others to discover their style while accepting and honoring their bodies, uniqueness, and cultural influences. I have begun this journey by creating a non-profit called "Dress it Up! From A to Z". "Dress it Up!" incorporates fashion, marketing, styling, sustainability, and community service. Through the "Dress It Up!" pop-up boutiques, my partner and I provide gently used and new dresses to teens in low-income communities. We strive to encourage self-esteem, acceptance, and body positivity in young teens. We also use these opportunities to educate the community on small steps they can take to help reduce waste. Armed with a degree in fashion merchandising, I hope to attain a position in which I can increase sustainable practices, creativity, and inclusivity in the world of fashion. A career in the industry will help in building the network needed to provide mentoring opportunities for young people who want to learn more about fashion and related fields. I believe in Proverbs 11:25, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed”.

I am involved in several extracurricular activities through my school. One particular activity that has become a very significant part of my Senior year, is a grant funded program known as the Severn School Fellows. My project specifically focuses on fashion upcycling, along with increased inclusivity and accessibility of quality fashion for underserved communities. Since I was a very young child, I have had a passionate interest in fashion. It has always served as a form of self expression for me. I am intrigued by the evolution of fashion through history, as well as the cultural impact of fashion on societies around the world. Early in my high school years, my personal style began to evolve with my discovery of vintage clothing shops. This led to my interest in the benefits of upcycling fashion. Upcycling is the repurposing of clothing, shoes, and other fabric items into new or unique items. This motivated me to learn more about sustainable practices in the fashion industry and to explore how the average citizen could do their part in reducing waste in our landfills. My project partner and I have solicited and received dozens of donations in gently used clothing and jewelry items from both individuals and local organizations. These donations serve as the inventory for our Homecoming and Prom pop-up boutiques. These boutiques are targeted towards middle and high school girls from lower economic communities. The donations and boutiques serve the two purposes of our project. The donations reduce waste in the landfills while the boutiques provide a variety of formal styles for girls. Girls are invited to shop for formal attire and jewelry at no cost to them or their families. The popup boutiques also afford us the opportunity to share with community members what we’ve learned about sustainable practices. We are able to inform them about small contributes they can make that have a big impact. Beyond our project goals, my personal vision is to encourage positive body image and self esteem among teen girls; to influence wider acceptance of different styles and style influences; and to increase the accessibility of quality fashion and accessories for all communities. My efforts with this project actively demonstrates my desire to be a part of impactful change in the fashion industry that can improve the future of our environment. This is change that will flow to local communities and can be affected by industry leaders, community organizations, and individuals.

Community service is important to me because I believe that the skills, talents, and resources you are blessed with in your life are meant to help uplift others. I also believe that every person deserves to feel they matter regardless of their life’s circumstances. What I gain most from my community service is making others feel valued. People of all ethnicities, beliefs, economic status, family structure, and communities, should have opportunities and access to resources needed to live a full life. Through my community service involvement, I can support others while also expanding my personal, academic, and professional experiences. What can sometimes appear as the smallest act of public service can have a huge impact on the life of an individual, a family, and a community. Community service projects I currently participate in and some of my past projects, include food and clothing drives, Toys for Tots, community space cleanup (beaches, parks, neighborhood areas), children camps and centers, and animal shelters. Through the monthly and annual food and clothing drives I participate in, I perform a variety of different tasks. Some of those tasks include the collection, sorting and distribution of the food and clothing collected for a community. These events are some of my favorites because I am able to witness firsthand the relief and appreciation of the people I am helping. Knowing that I am part of an organization and service that fulfills an immediate need for someone is very gratifying to me. Another one of my regular and more engaging community services is my work with children's camps and centers. I serve as a teacher’s aide for field day events, weekly Sunday school lessons, summer camps, and after-school care. Working with children always makes me feel brighter and I know they appreciate the kindness shown to them. I plan to double major in business management and fashion merchandising. My plan is to use my degrees to increase sustainable practices, creativity, and inclusivity in the fashion industry. I want to push the message that fashion and styles of clothing are not dependent on economic status, race, size, or age. They are for everyone. I want to teach people in different communities the beauty and versatility of fashion by helping them discover their unique styles in cost-effective ways. I want to be involved with the designing and production of quality clothes and accessories for those living in underserved communities. I plan to provide mentoring opportunities for young people who want to learn more about the fashion industry. After receiving my college degree, I hope to make the best use of my college education and experiences. I hope to “give back” to the community in a multitude of ways. I truly believe in Proverbs 11:25, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed”. Whether serving at or distributing presents to families during the Holidays or other events, serving others and giving back will be my primary purpose in life after earning my degrees.

If I could have everyone in the world read just one book, I would have them read Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book gives a raw but very real perspective of what it means to be a part of the Black community in our American society. Coates gives us different viewpoints on the Black experience. He discloses his thoughts about our history in America and how we as individuals and a community are perceived by White Americans. He also shares how his identity as a Black male has affected him throughout his life. Many historical and current accounts speak of the truth of the extreme injustices that Black Americans have endured. However, these accounts are often told by non-Black people who are giving facts from an outside viewpoint. Coates shows the reader our lives from the eyes of someone who lives it. Coates’ book provides the reader with a first-person account through the everyday lived experience of a Black man trying to carve a life in our country. An essential part of Coates’ story is his centralizing of Howard University, aka the Mecca, as a place of unity and representation. He alludes to the versatility of students that attend the university, emphasizing how we are all unique in our Blackness but we still work to create a community that values us all. He delivers an impactful message that we are more than what the world labels us. The reader can begin to understand how his time at Howard offered him a safe space to explore the other parts of himself because he no longer had to defend his Blackness. As society tries to fit us all into one box and stuff stereotypes down our throats, he displays all our different selves that show the beauty of our identities. Others would benefit a great deal from reading this book to learn more about the true history and struggles of people of color and also to inspire them to look more deeply into their own identities and self-awareness.