STUDENT SPEAK • PEDRO C.
Pedro shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“Every now and then opportunities arise; some good, some bad, while others are quite exceptional just like Jamah and In True Fashion’s program in which I have been so fortunate of having been a part of it. Each and every Tuesday I am always expecting great things and so far I have not been disappointed. For instance, I knew our bag design was going to be great and so far it has been the best one. All the other groups do not even match our caliber since we have set the bar way too high for them to reach. This may not be the best Student Speak but one thing is for sure that our team will have the best bag!”
STUDENT SPEAK • YETSSENIA T.
Yetssenia shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“JAMAH has been an interesting course so far. A couple of weeks ago we got to ride in a limo to visit their factory, which not everyone gets to do. It was interesting seeing how everyone had their own task at their own station. When I walked into the factory I imagined seeing huge machines and lots of people, but to my surprise it was small. It was good seeing that success doesn’t have to be big.”
STUDENT SPEAK • CATHERINE D.
Catherine shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“This week we got our prototypes. Actually having the basic form of the bag helped our group a lot. Now, after a few adjustments, we have fallen deeply in love with our bag! I might actually buy it! I’m really looking forward to Tuesdays now because of JAMAH, it’s just so much fun being with my group! TEAM SOPRO GO!”
“This week in In True Fashion, I had a pleasant surprise. I was jokingly making a deal that I would write 5 student speaks for Dipping Dots, and I couldn’t believe that Nancy actually went and got me ice cream! It was so surprising. I guess business is everywhere, you just have to make the right proposal. Also, we worked on our fundraising. It was fun and productive. We made a lot of bracelets and we already sold 2 before we even started selling! I feel confident our team will win.”
“This week, we worked on reaching out to people about the program. We discussed about the program’s strong points and how it affects us. We also had to nervously speak to the camera, calling out people like Ryan Seacrest and Ellen to support our program. Oh! I almost forgot! There was a twist this week. We were put into different groups. It felt weird because I felt like the awesome dynamics of our group SoPro disappeared, so I’m hoping this is a one time thing. It was still a pretty interesting experience though. I was really looking forward to seeing the final product this week. I hope we get to see it soon. Our last class is next week!”
STUDENT SPEAK • TROY C.
Troy shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“This is my first student speak. When I got the word that our class was going to be in a fashion program creating bags, my first impression was that the program, JAMAH’s In True Fashion, was aimed more at the women than the men, but I soon found out that it’s for both. So far through the activities and learning experiences that I have gone through in the program, I have learned so much about the program and why the program has offered us this opportunity. In True Fashion gives us the opportunity to explore ourselves and gain new skills from teamwork to confidence. This program applies to the real world, working with others you do not often work with or talk to, or even like in general, I like everyone on my team though. Putting forth your own ideas, not just following along or staying tight-lipped, In True Fashion has helped me grow as a person and hopefully will for everyone else.”
STUDENT SPEAK • KYLE Y.
Kyle shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“JAMAH provided us a limo ride not too long ago to their factory where I got somewhat of an inspiration on how to create our bag. However, the previous two weeks have been filled with many setbacks and new designs for the design team. I appreciate the help of the many people who have come to the class to help us. I look forward to designing a bag I can call mine.”
STUDENT SPEAK • JESSIE G.
Jessie shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“It has been a long time since I got a chance to do a “Student Speak.” But here I am expressing my thoughts about the last two weeks that with JAMAH. So far, my team, SoPro, is getting a lot done and we seem to be progressing at a faster pace than the other teams. I’m excited to see what our bag will look like next week.”
STUDENT SPEAK • KEANU E.
Keanu shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“I haven’t done a student speak in quite sometime. I am aware that doing this activity goes to my grade, and blaming other homework as the reason why I can’t get this done isn’t a wise argument. I suppose then the real cause is my general laziness and own work, not merely homework just work in general, interfering with what I truly have on my plate.
So, here’s the rundown of what I’ve gained from the past few weeks since my latest student speak. Some several weeks ago, we travelled to the area where the bags are made. Surprisingly, it’s not even a block away from my house; I can walk to the work place right now if I wanted to. Over there, we learned how the bags are made and what the process is, seeing how an independent business that deals with making bags works. Kind of an odd detail, but the place seemed messy, yet the workers and the managers had a method to the madness. I was impressed. At the end, we were given time to develop our bag some more, as the original blueprints were forgotten and could’ve used some reworking anyways.
In all honesty, the limo was nice, I just didn’t think it was overtly awesome. I think that math, english, and all that other stuff is awesome, no offense. I think the mechanics into the difference in engine of the limo piqued me moreso than the limo and the reason why we had the limo in the first place. Really, that’s just me I suppose; fame and money isn’t what I have in mind.
Over the last two weeks, we worked on the bag design and general rule of thumb while ‘on set.’ Interestingly, curse words are allowed, but only if used in a grammatically correct format, though I assume if we do, it will be censored. More importantly than that, we split between marketing and business, and design. On the first day, I worked on helping design the bag. With the help of many of the In True Fashion people, I specifically remember David helping us between both days, we developed of an idea and a theme we wanted to go with our bag. While I worked with the design team, Rudy and Rigo worked together to develop an interesting type of fundraiser: making professional type photos that may be edited to look generally nice or hip and modern.
The next week, we continued the similar pattern, but I took a break from design and helped advance the fundraising idea. More help ensued, and we flushed out the specifics of the planned event. At the end, the final design was drawn; it looks pretty impressive to me.
I have to say, the amount of support we get from ITF is rather impressive. All the people we meet have something important to provide to us as we progress our plans with our bag designs and business plans. Though I feel as though I should feel empowered, I feel more pushed along to complete the task more and more; I’m not resistant to ITF, but I feel more compelled to complete my tasks instead of learning to be a businessman. This is just me feeling how to take this program, as my main goal is not to be a businessperson.”
“Yeah, student speak. I do these about every so often. Anyways, more work on economics and fundraising. I do have to wonder just how big Nancy’s network of people is. On that note, I think we should discuss networking more, if wanted/needed. Just to get this out of the way, I’m not a hustler or anything like that; I make deals when I have to, not when I want to. I don’t mind free ice cream, but unfortunately I’m not a go getter at a business. If I do start a business, it’ll be the side or something. This is still pretty nice however; don’t look a gift horse in the mouth after all. Kinda short, but we’ve had less to discuss as of late.”
STUDENT SPEAK • RIGO E.
Rigo shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“This year has definitely shown growth within the organizational aspect of the actual In True Fashion program. We have a team of well versed, experienced entrepreneurs and professionals at our disposal. With the students working on their bag projects and fundraising for Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship, the help of these mentors leaves no stone unturned when presenting the students with different angles in the process. The start of every day we meet with Nancy Gale and her generous associates, every young potential entrepreneur is shocked with a bolt of reality; they have the ability to do what society deems improbable. And that is being able to forge a path for themselves that leads deep into the forest of their futures. A path, created with tools that students are being taught to use and acknowledge. One which is the building block of success and that is: Nothing Is Impossible.”
“This year has definitely shown growth within the organizational aspect of the actual In True Fashion Program. We have a team of experienced entrepreneurs and professionals well versed in law at our disposal. With the students working on their bag projects and fund raising for Network For Teacher Entrepreneurship, the help of these mentors leave no stone unturned when presenting the students with different angles in the process. The start of every day we meet with Nancy Gale and her generous associates, every young potential entrepreneur is shocked with a bolt of reality; they have the ability to do what society deems improbable. And that is being able to forge a path for themselves that leads deep into the forest of their futures. A path, created with tools that students are being taught to use and acknowledge. One, which is the building block of success, and that is: Nothing Is Impossible.”
STUDENT SPEAK • CATHERINE D.
Catherine shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“In True Fashion has been crazy fun! We just went to the Step Up event, supporting Step Up, promoting JAMAH and and getting people to vote for the In True Fashion bags. It was such an exhilarating experience. We talked to so many people and we even got great advice on how to start our own business. I’m so excited for Tuesday’s class!”
STUDENT SPEAK • MARY R.
Mary shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“I cannot wait for the next class! Its so exciting! I really want to have fun designing a bag and learn more about business. I also hope I can become a better spokesperson.”
STUDENT SPEAK • TAKARA J.
Takara shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“I believe JAMAH’s In True Fashion is going to be an amazing experience! Not only do I get participate in a program that promotes originality and uniqueness, but a program that works on universal skills such as Patience, Creativity, Communication, and overall Positivity. Skills that i can apply in any career field I choose. JAMAH is inspiring and I can’t wait to see the impact the program is going to have on us!”
“Surprise is an understatement to describe the surprise my classmates and I received a few weeks ago. Nancy Gale allowed us to visit her factory in style. She transported all of us in limos. Why do you ask? To give us inspiration and insight to what our life could be like. As young entrepeneurs with ambition, drive, motivation,knowledge, heart, and fabulous ideas we are able to utilize what we have to make our dreams come true. After riding in the limo one could only think: why can’t this be my life everyday? Why can’t I go to work in a limo? Why can’t I be my own boss? The answers to these questions is simple, yes it can be us. Nancy is giving us a clean start by challenging and expanding our knowledge. JAMAH is an amazing program!”
STUDENT SPEAK • JESSIE G.
Jessie shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“To me JAMAH is not just another project for econ class, but is is an opportunity to learn and acquire skills that will be useful in the future.”
STUDENT SPEAK • KUNTI Y.
Kunti shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“I have always found economics an interesting subject and now not only do i get to take the class, I also get to learn something firsthand about how the business world works. I am very excited to be working with JAMAH and In True Fashion, I think there is a lot to learn and I think we will have a lot of fun.”
STUDENT SPEAK • KYLE Y.
Kyle shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“So far in JAMAH I have only attended 2 classes and so far I can already see how much this program will affect my life in terms of my major/career. The classroom community is so friendly and determined. I know for a fact we will accomplish something great in just a few weeks.”
STUDENT SPEAK • CATHERINE D.
Catherine shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“When I first heard about JAMAH’s In True Fashion I couldn’t believe it. It was too good of an opportunity! I’ve been dreaming of designing my own bag and now I get to do it. I just hope I’ll be able to contribute to my team and not disappoint anyone. Eeek! I can’t wait to get started!”
STUDENT SPEAK • YETSSENIA T.
Yetssenia shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“ We’re already into week 2 of JAMAH’s In True Fashion and i must say I am very eager to continue experiencing this program
”
STUDENT SPEAK • RUDY S.
Rudy shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“Excited on all the cool plans we have to do to get the word out on ECHS/JAMAH voting”
STUDENT SPEAK • KEANU E.
Keanu shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“Well, I kind of missed the last time to write anything, so here I am writing. Unfortunately, I was also unable to finish class today because of the meeting with Dartmouth, like many others who attended it. Due to this I kind of missed some of the general interaction with the others students for half the class time period, so it was unfortunate. Yeah. So, just for the record, I think this program is rather interesting; I’m not really a business person, but I found the idea of designing something/selling it to people a fun sentiment to do with friends. About last week, during Back to School Night, some of us, to earn extra credit and/or gain extra credit, sold some leftover stuff from last year’s senior economic plan. I was able to sell only a few toys, while my friends were able to sell multiple clothes; I asked myself, what was the deal with that? I was only able to sell to a few kids and some elderly people, but there were much more middle aged to youth coming in. Most of what we sold was to our own ECHS student body. I found that interesting, and that lead me to today’s discussion of what part of the business could I work on. And, I chose marketing. So yeah, this is my first entry. I hope I didn’t make any mistakes; I don’t feel like correcting them. I have to get off right now, as my mother is having problems with me staying up too late. Hopefully I won’t regret typing the above, but it’s a part of this process.”
“A bit late considering that next class is tomorrow. Anyway, things were hectic in the past week; there were tests, benchmarks, Lip-Off, the heat and a bunch of other things going on to boot. By no means is this my making an excuse; for the most part it’s just me reflecting on that week as a whole. If I recall correctly, last week’s JAMAH focused on meeting some new people part of the JAMAH and In True Fashion group and finally setting us up in our teams. For the most part, I’m happy with my team; they don’t seem like the people who would argue with me indefinitely. Course, that may just me … Please let it not be me that’s troubling? Ah well. So yeah, everything’s pretty cool for the most part.”
STUDENT SPEAK • DANNY M.
Danny shared his thoughts about In True Fashion:
“Today we were introduced into the world of communication. The whole class we communicated or talked. I am extremely exited to get to speak my mind and translate my ideas into a project. I am looking forward to seeing the final end product. It’s going to be awesome, but i am a little scared with the whole public speaking thing . . .”
STUDENT SPEAK • ALLISON A.
Allison shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“Excited for this semester with JAMAH!”
STUDENT SPEAK • ANA V. • TEAM PATCH
Ana shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“I would love to work with JAMAH because it really opened my eyes and made me realize the complexity of fashion. I like the way JAMAH works at making bags. I think that JAMAH could be a life experience for me. I believe I can learn a lot from this experience and I have much to bring to JAMAH.”
STUDENT SPEAK • RAQUEL L. • TEAM PINK MONKEY
Raquel shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
At first, the program seemed a little, well, pointless. I didn’t see the point in making a bag for an already successful company. I even felt a little used. But as the days went on, I started to notice how well my group would communicate. Our actions were thought out and planned before-hand. The more we acted like a team, the more fun the activities became. By the end of it all, we saw an idea of ours become a reality when the bags we, yes we, designed were presented to us. The experience was surreal. I couldn’t believe what was once a simple little doodle became a product. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else.
STUDENT SPEAK • SHAMMS K. • TEAM WONDER
Shamms shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
In True Fashion is an amazing group of people coming together to create mesmerizing bags. You do not have to be a super star to own a JAMAH bag. You just have to be you!
STUDENT SPEAK • RACHAEL J. • TEAM WONDER
Rachael shared her thoughts about In True Fashion:
“In True Fashion is a great program that has helped me to express my creativity. I am able to do so by creating a JAMAH handbag. This process has let great designers and great minds go to work to create a product that people will love.”