{"id":55119,"date":"2023-12-13T12:18:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T17:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=55119"},"modified":"2024-11-02T05:40:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T09:40:41","slug":"thomas-rosemond-woven-into-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/thomas-rosemond-woven-into-wilson\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Rosemond: Woven Into Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Thomas Rosemond, there was no alternative to NC State.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t apply anywhere else. I knew, one way or another, I\u2019d end up here. Whether it took me a year or two, whatever it was. Luckily, I got in,\u201d said Rosemond.<\/p>\n\n\n

But his sights weren\u2019t always set on Raleigh. Growing up in a Wolfpack family \u2014 his father and brother are both NC State graduates \u2014 initially pushed him to rebel.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cFor a while in high school, it was \u2018anything but State,\u2019\u201d said Rosemond.<\/p>\n\n\n

It was the summer after his junior year of high school, when he enrolled in the Wilson College of Textiles Summer Textile Exploration Program<\/a> (STEP), that his mind finally changed. Drawn to fashion and retail from an early age, the STEP program seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore his options.<\/p>\n\n\n

The week spent living on campus with access to the college\u2019s studios and labs was all it took.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cYou get that little sneak peek of what college is like,\u201d said Rosemond.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>\"ThreePlay Video<\/title><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Watch: <\/strong>Thomas and two other graduating seniors reflect on their time at NC State and share advice for future students.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

One application and one acceptance letter later, he was back at NC State as a fashion and textile management student, with a focus in brand management and marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cEvery day, I\u2019d wake up \u2014 early, because I\u2019m more productive in the morning \u2014 and I knew I\u2019d have class, and I\u2019d walk to class excited,\u201d said Rosemond. \u201cIt sounds corny to say, but I\u2019m going to class and I\u2019m going to learn something new. Something I didn\u2019t know before today, because I\u2019m passionate about the textile industry. It\u2019s what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

I\u2019m passionate about the textile industry. It\u2019s what I love.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

Rosemond channeled that passion into relationships, staying after classes to talk with his professors and working with Jeff Sackaroff, director of Career Services for the Wilson College of Textiles, to gain more experience in what he loved.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cYou start [at Wilson] and everyone else thinks, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re going to be a fashion designer.\u2019 No, that\u2019s not what we all do. There\u2019s a lot to learn,\u201d said Rosemond.<\/p>\n\n\n

As a strategic sourcing intern with Kohl\u2019s, he was working behind the scenes, coordinating who is making which garments, where the materials are coming from and more. That\u2019s when he realized just how much he\u2019d been learning in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n

It made me feel confident in the education I was getting and appreciate it even more.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d had plenty of sourcing classes, global trade and retail buying. Having a job and doing what I\u2019m learning about I\u2019m like \u2018Oh, I was learning how to actually do it in a real-world scenario,\u2019\u201d said Rosemond. \u201cThink and Do, you know? It made me feel confident in the education I was getting and appreciate it even more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

When it comes to advice for new students, he says: \u201cDon’t be afraid to reach out to people \u2014 the faculty and staff on campus \u2014 there\u2019s always a resource out there. Whether it\u2019s career-related, personal, whatever it might be, there\u2019s someone there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n