Meet AIU Students and Alumni
Meet Judith Barnes
B.F.A. in Fashion Design and Marketing
Fashion Phenom
Judith Barnes has been drawing and designing and sewing clothing since she was nine. She won her first art contest at the age of 11 and, more recently, her design work has been featured in the Miami Herald and several Caribbean newspapers and on BET-TV and Channel 6. She has been producing and staging her own fashion shows for the last 10 years. Even with all this industry experience, however, Judith knew she still had much to learn. She enrolled at AIU South Florida to get her Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and Marketing.
“Going back to college was a challenge because I had a family to take care of and I didn’t have the time or the resources. I knew it would eventually pay off, though. It had always been my dream to have a college degree and study fashion design.” Now that Judith is only a few months away from graduating, she has some advice for those who have similar dreams: “I learned it does not matter how old you are, you can achieve your goals by not giving up on your dreams or yourself.”
Now that Judith’s dream of earning her college degree is nearly attained, she’s looking ahead. “I’m going to open my own bridal boutique specializing in custom wedding gowns, evening wear, and designer clothes.”
While most any fashion program could have prepared Judith for the design aspect of her boutique, it takes a special program to also prepare her for the business side. A boutique, whether it is selling fashion or furniture, is a small business and requires business knowledge, savvy, and experience.
Because AIU is a complete university and not just a school offering art and design classes, Judith has been taking business and marketing as part of her Fashion Design and Marketing curriculum. “I think the business classes I have been able to take are every bit as important as my fashion classes. I’m learning practical skills in everything from marketing to accounting that I will be able to use when setting my boutique up. Thanks to AIU, I know not only how to design, but also how to run a business.”
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