How to Thrive in Your Fashion Classes

Health and Wellness

I’m excited that you are joining me this term for a discovery of the knowledge and skills that are fundamental to careers in fashion, apparel and costume. I am eager to get to know you and witness your growth in abilities to research, design and effectively communicate ideas for a target customer or character. I'd like to share with you my own mantra at this moment, which I encourage you to adopt, quoting from the famous Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

Wellness & Health Statement: As your professor, I value your health and wellbeing. In order to succeed in this class, in college, and beyond, you must work hard and find balance with rest, exercise, and attention to your mental and physical health. I plan to challenge you: there will be activities, and concepts that will challenge your thinking. However, this work cannot be at the expense of your wellbeing. Working until exhaustion is NOT a badge of honor; rather, it reveals imbalance. I encourage you this semester(and I will send constant reminders) to find productive and healthy ways to find silence, relax, breathe, meditate, and seek peace. In that silence, we often find inspiration and the space to generate creative thoughts. I also encourage you to celebrate and enjoy the small moments of college. I will try to bring that joy to you even when the stress of this semester starts to loom. We've got this!

Audre Lorde once said, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence; it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." Please see your wellness as an act of power and perseverance, the core to your success. Hold each other accountable. Hold me accountable. Let's work to change this "achievement-oriented" culture into one that embraces wellbeing and growth. Let's start a revolution together. (Taken from Dr. Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, Department of Sociology, Brown University)

General Support

There are lots of resources such as Office of Student Life, EOPS/CARE and Personal Counseling, for any student who is struggling with any kind of stress, needs help with employment, housing, finances, etc. There are many programs at PCC that are designed to help students to overcome whatever might prevent them from meeting their academic goals. If you need anything, and cannot find it, please do not hesitate to ask me, and I will do my best to point you in the right direction.

Student Resources

Lancer Pantry and Food Resources

Accommodations

If you have a disability and believe you may need an accommodation such as materials in an alternate format, preferential seating, sign language interpreting/real-time  captioning, access to assistive technology and/or test accommodations, per the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act please contact Disabled Students Programs and Services in room D209 or at 626-585-7127 as soon as possible and please feel free to discuss your needs with me in private.

Support

PCC offers many academic and personal support services to help you be more successful, including Counseling, Tutoring, Library, Financial Aid, Health Services and more. Please explore these available free services:

Remote/ Online Tutoring: Please visit Remote/Online Tutoring to get information on our student success centers for the support you need.
Technology Access: To borrow a laptop and see information about Wifi access, please visit the student information page
Technical Support: Find help to access and use Canvas, including guides and tutorials.
Library Resources: Get help finding the resources you need, including books and articles. Meet with a librarian 24/7 to support your research needs and assist with citing sources.
Counseling: Our counselors can help you with educational planning, transferring to a university, academic and personal challenges, and more. Be sure to contact a counselor to complete your comprehensive student education plan before you complete 15 transferable units. This is needed to maintain priority registration and financial aid.
Financial Aid: The Office of Financial Aid and their knowledgeable advisers are here to make your education affordable. Please contact them at gotopcc@pasadena.edu
Health & Well-Being Services: PCC offers a variety of free and low-cost services to help you maintain your physical and emotional well-being. Contact Student Health Services at medicalSHS@pasadena.edu and Personal Counseling at personalcounseling@pasadena.edu when you need support.

Success Centers

View all Services for Current Students on the PCC website.

Tools to prepare for a class

The benefit of taking a college course, especially an online or hybrid course is that you can distribute that time to fit into your busy schedule, assuming you have good time management skills.

So much has been written on the topic if time management! To arm you with some tools to combat the issue of time management, here are some tips from NYU - https://www.nyu.edu/students/academic-services/undergraduate-advisement/academic-resource-center/tutoring-and-learning/academic-skills-workshops/time-management.html.

Schedule your class into your life (Do not wait until the last minute)

Log in to the Canvas Course frequently, and well in advance of the due dates each week – as in at least twice a week; once to see what is due, and once to submit work. Most people require 10 hours per week for this course.

Homework, consisting of several hours each week, will be assigned on a regular basis. Chapter reading, research, gathering images, analysis of images and content, will often be completed as homework. Plan on spending at least 20 hours each week outside of class to study and work on assignments for 6 week sessions. In the beginning, it will take more time. Stick with it, and you will develop a comfort level and a routine, and you will develop strategies for working more efficiently.

Plan to turn work in early in advance of due dates/Always submit assignments by the due date/time

Always turn something in, even if your schedule is such that you are not permitted to do your best work.
Assignments can be turned in early, and will not be graded until after the due date/time has passed.
Assignments can be edited and resubmitted before the due date, and only the last/latest/most recent submission will be graded

PASADENA CITY COLLEGE STUDENT HAND BOOK PAGE 18 & 19 (the time estimates in the catalog are based on a 16 week term, these estimates increase for 6-week summer intersessions)

"Before choosing your classes, take a moment to consider the following: How much time will I have to be a college student? Being a successful college student requires not only classroom attendance but hours of study outside of class as well. Each class has a unit value. Generally, one unit of credit equals one hour of class time. Most classes are worth three units, since they meet three hours each week. Plan on studying 1 1/2 to 2 hours per week for each hour in class."

Motivation

Motivation can be an issue for students too. Just like time management, so much has been written on the topic if motivation! Here is a link to some tips on maintaining your motivation https://jamesclear.com/motivation. Check out these tips on motivation before the semester begins, before you get even busier than you are now! There is a bit of overlap between the tips for maintaining motivation and the time management tips.

Schedule your class into your life (Do not wait until the last minute)

Log in to the Canvas Course frequently, and well in advance of the due dates each week – as in at least twice a week; once to see what is due, and once to submit work. Most people require 10 hours per week for this course.

Homework, consisting of several hours each week, will be assigned on a regular basis. Chapter reading, research, gathering images, analysis of images and content, will often be completed as homework. Plan on spending at least 20 hours each week outside of class to study and work on assignments for 6 week sessions. In the beginning, it will take more time. Stick with it, and you will develop a comfort level and a routine, and you will develop strategies for working more efficiently.

Be diligent, but do not panic

Each week, reflect on what goes well and what needs to be changed.
Own your decisions, actions, and inaction.
Make changes when needed.

Set realistic goals, give yourself enough time, dedicate 8 to 12 hours to each class each week

Treat the class like a paid position or like a regular class that you must physically attend. Make a schedule that fits your lifestyle, but adhere strictly to the schedule that you create for yourself.

Work strategically to get ahead, and stay ahead.

At first, working online can be particularly time consuming. Focus on sticking to a schedule and getting into a rhythm where you start working on assignments a week in advance of the due date. Working ahead of deadlines will allow you time to get questions answered, and maximize your scores.

Please take a few minutes to complete the self-assessment tests to see if to see if you have the skill that you need to succeed in an online or hybrid class: PCC Distance Ed Self-Assessments. There are several factors to consider; Technical skills, Organizational skills, Learning Preferences, as well as Computer requirements. It really just comes down to you deciding that you're going to do it, making the time, and then just doing it - even if you don't feel like it. You CAN do this.

Communicate with the instructor

Trust that it is of the utmost importance to me that you succeed in this class and way beyond.
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me through Pronto, Canvas Inbox, or hlluttrell@pasadena.edu