By Mary Giuffrida<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Olivia Vanistendael walked into Levi Strauss & Co.<\/a> fresh off her junior year at the Wilson College of Textiles<\/a>, she never could have dreamed that five years later she would be working her dream job at the very same company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael started at NC State in 2014, but it wasn\u2019t until the end of her first year that she found her way to textile engineering<\/a>. Engineering students at NC State start off as Engineering First-Years<\/a>, using that year to learn about various disciplines within engineering before deciding on a specific engineering degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For Vanistendael, the decision to focus on textile engineering came from her ability to connect the degree to the world around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was able to clearly see the relationship between the degree and my everyday life, from the composite materials used in skis and cars, to the upholstered materials on furniture,\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd that helped me to visualize opportunities for myself after college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She credits the Wilson College with setting her up for success upon graduating and entering the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe coursework at the Wilson College of Textiles is so unique, it really prepares you to be a great candidate,\u201d Vanistendael says. \u201cIt makes you stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was not only this unique coursework, but also the connections she made through the college that helped Vanistendael secure her first internship. She reached out to an alumni of the Wilson College working at Levi\u2019s who forwarded her resume to another employee of the company and helped Vanistendael on the path to an internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a huge benefit of the college,\u201d Vanistendael explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a small network, but it’s very influential.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael interned with the Levi\u2019s Tops raw materials team, focusing on materials and sustainability for women\u2019s tops. The team eventually implemented her recommendation for replacing Rayon starting with the 2019 season. This was the first step towards phasing out the material altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael also worked on increasing Levi\u2019s transparency in e-commerce, creating a solution that implemented pop-up boxes to display increased raw materials information, sustainable manufacturing processes and care instructions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After completing her internship, Vanistendael found herself drawn back to the work she had been doing at Levi\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really liked the subject matter,\u201d she says. \u201cI could really clearly see the connection between my degree and the work I was doing, and it had the sustainability aspect I was looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few months after her internship ended, Vanistendael received a job offer to work as a fabric development assistant on the same team she had interned with. Working closely with internal product development, merchandising and design teams, she developed fabrics and finishes across all categories and genders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t long, however, before Vanistendael found herself longing for a new challenge. She eventually accepted a position as a global fabric specialist at Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods. Her role shifted to performance fabrics, developing over 100 new fabrics for collections such as Calia by Carrie Underwood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the position at Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods pushed Vanistendael in new ways, she quickly realized she lacked the passion she had felt working on lifestyle brands like Levi\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was interested in exploring broader areas, like process improvement or raw materials strategy,\u201d Vanistendael says. \u201cAnd I realized I was much more passionate about the lifestyle brands than the performance brands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This renewed clarity led Vanistendael back to Levi\u2019s, where she moved away from her former role and began a new position as a product operations analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team Vanistendael works on is made up of the go-to people inside Levi\u2019s. They operate as the go-between for the information technology (IT) teams and the designers, product developers and merchants, interpreting the needs of the people within the company and creating solutions focused on process improvements and system changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of what I do is customer service, but the customers are all the internal users,\u201d Vanistendael explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of analysis and logical thinking; our job is to be process experts so when requests or issues come through we can understand why it’s happening and implement a solution for the business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael credits her career exploration with giving her the perspective she needs to be successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving my experiences gives me this insight that’s unique,\u201d she says. \u201cI can empathize with the developers more than someone who\u2019s never done what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She encourages students at the Wilson College of Textiles to explore as much as possible and to learn about the aspects of the industry they like and dislike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeep an open mind and talk to a lot of people,\u201d Vanistendael says. \u201cKnowing what you like and what you\u2019re good at can really help you explore new opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n By Mary Giuffrida<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Olivia Vanistendael walked into Levi Strauss & Co.<\/a> fresh off her junior year at the Wilson College of Textiles<\/a>, she never could have dreamed that five years later she would be working her dream job at the very same company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael started at NC State in 2014, but it wasn\u2019t until the end of her first year that she found her way to textile engineering<\/a>. Engineering students at NC State start off as Engineering First-Years<\/a>, using that year to learn about various disciplines within engineering before deciding on a specific engineering degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For Vanistendael, the decision to focus on textile engineering came from her ability to connect the degree to the world around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was able to clearly see the relationship between the degree and my everyday life, from the composite materials used in skis and cars, to the upholstered materials on furniture,\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd that helped me to visualize opportunities for myself after college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She credits the Wilson College with setting her up for success upon graduating and entering the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe coursework at the Wilson College of Textiles is so unique, it really prepares you to be a great candidate,\u201d Vanistendael says. \u201cIt makes you stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was not only this unique coursework, but also the connections she made through the college that helped Vanistendael secure her first internship. She reached out to an alumni of the Wilson College working at Levi\u2019s who forwarded her resume to another employee of the company and helped Vanistendael on the path to an internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a huge benefit of the college,\u201d Vanistendael explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a small network, but it's very influential.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael interned with the Levi\u2019s Tops raw materials team, focusing on materials and sustainability for women\u2019s tops. The team eventually implemented her recommendation for replacing Rayon starting with the 2019 season. This was the first step towards phasing out the material altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael also worked on increasing Levi\u2019s transparency in e-commerce, creating a solution that implemented pop-up boxes to display increased raw materials information, sustainable manufacturing processes and care instructions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After completing her internship, Vanistendael found herself drawn back to the work she had been doing at Levi\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really liked the subject matter,\u201d she says. \u201cI could really clearly see the connection between my degree and the work I was doing, and it had the sustainability aspect I was looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few months after her internship ended, Vanistendael received a job offer to work as a fabric development assistant on the same team she had interned with. Working closely with internal product development, merchandising and design teams, she developed fabrics and finishes across all categories and genders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t long, however, before Vanistendael found herself longing for a new challenge. She eventually accepted a position as a global fabric specialist at Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods. Her role shifted to performance fabrics, developing over 100 new fabrics for collections such as Calia by Carrie Underwood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the position at Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods pushed Vanistendael in new ways, she quickly realized she lacked the passion she had felt working on lifestyle brands like Levi\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was interested in exploring broader areas, like process improvement or raw materials strategy,\u201d Vanistendael says. \u201cAnd I realized I was much more passionate about the lifestyle brands than the performance brands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This renewed clarity led Vanistendael back to Levi\u2019s, where she moved away from her former role and began a new position as a product operations analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team Vanistendael works on is made up of the go-to people inside Levi\u2019s. They operate as the go-between for the information technology (IT) teams and the designers, product developers and merchants, interpreting the needs of the people within the company and creating solutions focused on process improvements and system changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of what I do is customer service, but the customers are all the internal users,\u201d Vanistendael explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of analysis and logical thinking; our job is to be process experts so when requests or issues come through we can understand why it's happening and implement a solution for the business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanistendael credits her career exploration with giving her the perspective she needs to be successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving my experiences gives me this insight that's unique,\u201d she says. \u201cI can empathize with the developers more than someone who\u2019s never done what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She encourages students at the Wilson College of Textiles to explore as much as possible and to learn about the aspects of the industry they like and dislike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeep an open mind and talk to a lot of people,\u201d Vanistendael says. \u201cKnowing what you like and what you\u2019re good at can really help you explore new opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Olivia Vanistendael, a textile engineering alumna of the Wilson College of Textiles talks about her internship at Levi Strauss & Co. and how it led her to where she is today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"caption\":\"\",\"displayCategoryID\":2131}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[742,490,479],"tags":[487,1143,1280,2597,773,727,590,1382,507],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"