G-Dub the Cougar went missing, and you can crack the case and win two tickets to the (sold out) Forum Players’ performance of Clue the Musical on 11/8!
Here’s the rules: www.bit.ly/MissingCougar
And here’s a clue:
Genesee Community College
Project Runway Winner Visits Genesee Community College
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“I knew I wanted something else, something bigger,” explained Project Runway season nine winner Anya Ayoung Chee as she spoke with fashion students on campus Wednesday afternoon. Offering advice and sharing her journey in the fashion industry, Anya Ayoung Chee chose a more candid and relaxed approach to her presentation. While engaging students in conversation, Anya outlined her rise to fame from unknown to internationally acclaimed designer through the hit television program Project Runway.
Photo Credit: Howard Owens
Used with permission from The Batavian.
Growing up in Trinidad, Anya Ayoung Chee had limited career options and felt as though she was expected to pursue a traditional career by becoming a doctor or a lawyer. It wasn’t until Anya traveled to Tokyo, Japan with her family at the age of fifteen that she realized her true passion – design. Anya recounted how mesmerized she was by the technology and innovative designs illuminating the streets of Tokyo. It was this experience that influenced her in choosing to study graphic design at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. Anya eventually left Parsons during her junior year and studied at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, England. Upon graduating, Anya worked a string of jobs ranging from film production studio assistant to luxury perfume packaging designer, until her life was suddenly rocked by tragedy. In 2007, Anya’s younger brother Pilar died in a tragic car accident at the age of eighteen. Following this tragedy, Anya embarked on a “soul searching” journey that eventually led her to the Miss Universe Pageant in 2008 where she represented her home country as Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe. Representing Trinidad and Tobago provided a platform for Anya to begin designing clothing and promoting her own designs. In 2011, Anya Ayoung Chee auditioned for the ninth season of Project Runway and was chosen as a contestant in the final round of casting. Anya recounted the weeks leading up to Project Runway, describing her motivation to be a part of something bigger than herself and the encouragement she felt as “almost divine.” Anya did, however, suffer a lapse of faith when she received a call from Project Runway producers and initially turned down their offer for casting in season nine, fearing she would embarrass herself and her family and friends. Eventually Anya did accept the offer from producers and the rest is history.
Anya Ayoung Chee with fashion students and professors Mr. Dudkowski and Ms. Ehrhart.
Today, Anya Ayoung Chee is working on her eponymous line in addition to her street wear line PILAR, created in memorial of her brother. Anya’s Spring/Summer 2014 line showed at fashion weeks in South Africa, New York, and London. Anya also recently launched “The Canyaval Shop” showcasing her designs inspired by Carnival which feature strong Caribbean influences. Anya Ayoung Chee is still very involved with The Tallman Foundation, a charity that her family founded in memory of her late brother, Pilar.
Anya Ayoung Chee credits much of her success to her “light-hearted approach” to the industry and her mentor who taught her everything she knows about the technical side of design. Anya offered the same advice to fashion students during her presentation: find a mentor to foster and develop skills and take calculated risks. Anya enforced the ideals of self-respect, positivity, determination, and tenacity in setting out to achieve greatness. When asked to impart her best piece of advice for young designers and professionals trying to break into the industry, Anya left students with the following words of encouragement: “Celebrate yourself and risk being yourself fully. It’s never worth not knowing.”
Anya Ayoung Chee signs autographs for fashion students following her presentation at Genesee Community College on Wednesday.
Check out some of Anya Ayoung Chee’s designs here!
G-Dub the Cougar is MISSING!
StandardAt the scene of G-Dub’s last known whereabouts, Campus Safety officers retrieved a scrap of paper with the website www.bit.ly/MissingCougar typed on it. The website introduces a game open to all students, faculty, staff and members of the community to solve the case. By attending campus events and online locations, participants receive clues to help determine who kidnapped G-Dub, how he/she did it and where G-Dub is currently being held.
Four GCC faculty and staff members have been named as suspects in the case: Director of Student Activities Cliff Scutella, Athletics Assistant Ron Spoitta, Director of Admissions Tanya Lane-Martin and First Year Experience Professor Dr. Tom Priester.
According to Campus Safety officers, all four have the means to execute the kidnapping. The website makes note of the possible weapons used in the kidnapping, such as the College Village golf cart, as well as the following four locations G-Dub could be held by the kidnapper; the Roz Steiner Art Gallery, Campus Bookstore, Fitness Center or the Alfred C. O’Connell Library.
According to the website, correctly solving the case enters participants in a raffle to win one of three prizes:
• First Prize – Two tickets to The Forum Players’ (SOLD OUT!) Clue the Musical – $40 value, Friday November 8th, 2013 at 7 p.m.
• Second Prize – Clue the board game and Clue the movie.
• Third Prize – A GCC gear basket, donated by G-Dub the Cougar.
The first prize tickets include a dine-in mystery theatre experience based on Clue, the popular board game. Comic antics, witty lyrics and a beguiling score carry the investigation as the audience, seated at tables on stage, help solve the mystery.
The GCC Forum Players joins Genesee County Mental Health Association for their performance of Clue the Musical presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. on November 8 and 9 at 7 p.m., as well as a matinee on November 10 at 2 p.m. All seats are $20, presale tickets only at the Genesee Community College Box Office, 1 College Road, Batavia NY, 14020 or by phone at (585) 343 – 0055 x6814.
Here’s a clue:
Phi Theta Kappa Hosts Third Annual “Bake for a Cure”
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Genesee Community College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society hosted their third annual “Bake for a Cure” event this afternoon, Thursday October 17th on campus. With the help of our members, the adviser and officer team set up a booth in the forum and sold tasty treats throughout the afternoon. Attracting hungry students and teachers alike, our annual bake sale was a huge success and we were able to raise well over $300! One hundred percent of the proceeds will be donated directly to Genesee Cancer Assistance, a local organization that provides aid for those affected by cancer and their loved ones.
Tasty treats in the forum!
In addition to our baked goods, we also sold raffle tickets for donated baskets and items. Our donated raffle items included gift cards, gift baskets, jewelry, and a beautiful pink ribbon quilt handmade by lung cancer survivor Deb Levinstein.
Handmade quilt donated by Deb Levinstein.
The raffle drawing will take place at our November lunch meeting and the winners will be contacted. Thank you to everyone who donated raffle items, baked items for the sale, helped set up, and volunteered their time to work at our booth. A special thanks goes out to everyone who participated to make this year’s event a success!
New Year, New Job, New View
As I begin my second year of the Fashion Design program at GCC, I also began a new job. As required by the Fashion program, each student needs experience working in the area of fashion, either over the summer or throughout the school year. For me, my recent new job was something completely new to me: men’s wear.
My job experience throughout this school year will be at Charles Men’s Shop. It is located at 200 E Main Street right in Batavia. While at the Men’s Shop, I will be setting the window displays. Showing the all of the amazing merchandise the store has to offer, while creating a theme and telling a story, keeping in mind the latest trends for fall was a challenge at first. I haven’t taken the Visual Display class with Ms. Ehrhart (the fashion design professor at GCC) because it begins in October, so trying to accomplish that goal made my first few window attempts difficult. I had a hard time finding inspiration and translating it through men’s wear. Until that time, I had only acquired experience with women’s retail. I had received some advice from the Men’s Shop’s helpful staff, Kristen, Don, and Dave. I also asked both of my professors, Mr. Dudkowski (the fashion merchandising professor at GCC) and Ms. Ehrhart for some advice. I’m very glad i decided to ask for some much-needed tips. After getting a better understanding of the window displays and finding my inspiration, I created a window that i was truly proud of. My vision for the window was the New York City pop up sales, since I, along with all other fashion students, will be attending a field trip to the Big Apple next month. Don Brown (Charles Men’s Shop VP) was recently showing me some pictures from the past trips to the city. He told me of the pop up retail stores that would be selling men’s wear, which made me think of trunk shows. I combined the two ideas with my inspiration of the city and created my window.
Business Wear
I really have enjoyed my time so far at the Men’s Shop. If i hadn’t attended GCC I wouldn’t receive an opportunity like this, nor would I have the always available professors ready to guide me with expert advice. Getting hands on training from such an accomplished and well-known store is great experience. Just as Don Brown had said, along with having fun, learning is the most important part of working at the Men’s Shop. After I have had more experience completing some windows and in-store displays, I could move on to learning new sewing techniques along with more planning and customer service skills.
As I look at window displays, men’s magazines and online articles, I see more now than I would have before this job. I wonder about what the message is that they are sending, what story they are telling, why they made certain choices. This ongoing experience will always make me think more about the way a display is shown than I would have ever thought. There is always room to grow and enhance skills with GCC and job opportunities.
Come down to Charles Men’s Shop and join me on the Wine Walk, October 5, 2013!
Fashion Forward is Eternally Greatful
StandardThe fashion show on Saturday was a total success, we heard nothing but compliments and positive feedback! I am incredibly relieved that the show is over however, it feels like a bitter sweet ending. I am excited to begin a new chapter in my life, but it saddens me that routine hard work is now over. The challenges that we faced were difficult, but they made life exciting and gave a sense of pride when those challenges were overcome.
On behalf of the entire fashion show production class, I must thank everyone who participated in the fashion show. This production required so many helping hands and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help and support from our school and community. I myself would like to thank Mike Perry, for devoting so much time into editing our pre scene and preshow videos; Marc Tillery, for editing our music and making our show sound spectacular; Barry Chow, for returning to us with just enough time to organize the video recording of our show; Amy Slusser, for guiding her class to make a ugly space beautiful, making our design theme carry through to our after party, and refueling our guests with refreshments and hor’dourves; Al Leight for creating our Behind the Scenes and DVD; Tim Landers and his maintenance team, for putting up with our preciseness and setting up our stage decorations; Ashley Ricketts, for filming, directing, and editing our preshow video ; Security, for protecting our merchandise; Gary Glaser, for photographing our show; Todd Sloat, for lighting up our stage and adding dramatic effects to the scenes; all of our designers, interns, hair/make up stylists, models, parents, and everyone else!
The most important person I would like to thank would be Mr. Rick Dudkowski, our fashion show production professor who led our class to obtaining a impactful reinvented show. Without his guidance we would’ve ran into many more issues and wouldn’t have been able to produce the quality show we had. I recommend to all upcoming fashion show production students to LISTEN TO MR. D!!!
Honestly, this show came together because of a group effort and no one individual would have been able to do this alone. Each and every person that participated in this show played a key role and we cannot thank you enough.
The lessons I have learned in this fashion show production class are priceless, I will take them with me throughout my lifetime and will always remember that teamwork can achieve greatness.
Mini Fashion Show for GCC’s Visitors
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Natalie Brown
Today, April 24th, counselors from high schools all around came to visit GCC, along with their secretaries for a surprise event. This years gathering was to educate these visitors about the Fashion Program in a fun and exciting way. During the event, the counselors and secretaries designed their own t-shirts. The end product was then displayed in a mini fashion show. The 3 people that had the most creative design and knew how to strut their stuff, on the mini runway, were awarded with a trophy.
Natalie Brown, one of the project manager’s for this event, said, “they’ll learn by doing.” In order to better understand the Fashion Program here at GCC, today’s visitors participated in the ‘design process’ and through the mini fashion show, experienced a little bit of event management.
This event was a fantastic way to get the word out about the great Fashion Program offered here at GCC. In involved a great amount of participation and the visitors were able to see what the program has to offer. The rooms where the luncheon took place was decorated and set up beautifully by all participants and helpers.
I could tell the counselors and their secretaries enjoyed the time they spent here at GCC today. They learned a lot about the program and were able to have fun at the same time. They put on a show that was enjoyable to watch, and they will be sure to remember the greatness that GCC has to offer future students.
This event could not have been so great if it weren’t for the GCC staff, helpers, and participants.
Candice Cooper/Natalie Brown- Project Managers
Tanya Lane-Martin- Assistant Dean of Enrollment/Director of Admissions
Rachel Blecha- Enrollment Specialist
Kerrie Sputore- Admissions Specialist
Christie Hale- Admissions
Ebony Ross- Admissions
Judges: Rick Dudkowski, Candice Cooper, Natalie Brown, Donna Ehrhart
Resume Writing: Winners of the Resume Contest
StandardDepending on the job you’re applying for, there are many different ways to write your resume. The two basic formats are chronological ( organize most recent history first) and functional (organize to highlight skills and accomplishments). Creating a resume and trying to figure out how to put it together may be difficult, however; you can build off your resume for the rest of your life. It’s important to have a resume to show off and exploit all of your skills. A few resume writing tips include:
Resume Do’s Resume Don’ts
1 page No “I”
to the point bad grammar/typos
designed with a focus photo of yourself
action verbs
include strong skills
Everyone likes to brag about themselves and a resume is a great way to do just that. Things you would include in your resume are education, work experience, special skills, and volunteer work. You could also include responsibilities/requirements of previous jobs, hobbies, and your career objective.
This years 2nd annual resume Contest’s first place prize was an I-pad. Second place prize was a $50 gift card and third place prize was a $30 gift card. This year the three judges were, John McGowan Career Services Coordinator, Cindy Carpenter Verizon Wireless Recruiter, and Jim Bucki Director of Information Technology. The competition was tough, and the resumes were excellent. However, only three could win:
1st Place- Ashley Rickets (I-Pad)
2nd Place- Sarah Testa ($50 Gift Card)
3rd Place- James Draper ($30 Gift Card)
If anyone needs help with their resumes or have any questions, contact John McGowan at (585) 343-0055 x6383 or jmmcgowan@genesee.edu Mr. McGowan provides helpful services to assist students in preparing for their futures.
Mr. McGowan working hard in his office
New Fashion Concentration: Event Planning
StandardEvents can be thought of as, “a creative solution to recognize products,” and “an experience people will write about,” says Professor Amy Slusser. From my own experience with event planning, it’s fun, exciting, and a hands-on job. When planning/creating an event, whether you’re planning a birthday party, business meeting, or a fashion show you’re able to put your creative side to work.
“An academic concentration is a cluster of courses focusing on a specialized topic,” says Michael S. Stoll, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. The students who pursue this new concentration will receive a Fashion Business Degree.
The need for events, especially retailing events, is growing. Students completing this concentration will be able to apply the knowledge they have learned and put it all to use for free-standing events and for complex event projects. In addition to events, students will be able to conduct activities at trade shows and conventions.
The coursework included with this concentration are classes, such as; Customer Relationship Management, Principles of Event Management, and Meeting and Convention Planning. These courses will assist in being able to understand topics like customer behavior, how to decorate, food choices, entertainment, and other elements.
Tasks of Meeting | Convention | Event Planners
- monitor event activities to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and laws
- converse with staff at chosen sit to plan the details
- inspect event facilities to make sure they meet the requirements
- coordinate services for event; accommodations, transportation for participants, facilities, catering, signage, displays, security, etc.
- consult with customers; meetings, conferences, conventions
- meet with sponsors and organize committers
- review bills for event/ approve payment
- evaluate and select providers
- arrange audio-visual equipment, transportation, displays.
The average wage of an event planner is $46,020 annually. In 2010, the employment was 72,000 employees. The projected growth is 29% or higher from 2010-2020. All-in-all there is a bright outlook for this position. 
2013 Ducky Derby!
GalleryThe 5th annual Ducky Derby fundraiser for United Way was a success! The contest was sponsored on March 7th, 2013. We raised a total of $1,821. Our first place duck was sold for $1 so the winner, Cathy Costello, received $182 while the remaining amount, $1,629, went directly to United Way. The race itself was fun and exciting, and the turnout was great!
A special Thank You goes out to:
Student Project Managers: Amber Sharick, Natalie Brown, Candice Cooper, Emma Peirick, Kelly Wetherby, and Maria Pia Camarra
Swimmers: Kylynn Bank, Jennifer Merle, Leah Staley, Chuck Malone, Nick DeFelice, Devon Phillip, and Gary Batchellor.
Swim Coach: Mr. Eric Fix
GCC Staff: Cheryl Young, Elizabeth Downie, Diane Marchese
GCC MarCom: Donna Rae Southerland, Michael Garrett, and Ilkia Solano
GCC Cheerleaders
GCC United Way Committee Members
GCC Student Activities Office
GCC Business Forum Club Members
GCC Faculty: Rick Dudkowski, Barb Shine, and Lauren Paisley
Door Prize Sponsors: Mr. Todd Plouffe, General Manager The Del Monte Lodge Hotel & Spa and Mr. Michael Horan, Assistant Manager, GCC Bookstore.
Genesee Community College Blog 