Remembering My Fashion-Filled Summer

by
Tessa Aldridge

The summer before my senior year of high school, I attended LIM College’s precollege program for high school students. At the time, I had no idea the impact this would have on my life. Before I went, I remember feeling nervous and even a little scared over whether I would like the city and the school. When the program was over, I knew it was meant for me.

young woman taking fashion magazine class
Tessa Aldridge

A blog post by Tessa Aldridge

Tessa Aldridge graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Media. In addition to working on The Lexington Line, she was a co-leader of the LIM Blog Club and a Fashion Scholar. She was also part of the team in the College's Office of Marketing and Communications.

During the program in New York City, I stayed in LIM’s residence hall and took two classes. The classes I took were called “Fashion Field Trips” and “Styling Essentials,” and they gave me a chance to experience what college would be like.

  • In the field trips class, my peers and I got to visit numerous career spaces throughout the city, including a trend forecasting office, a model agency, and many more spots.
  • For the styling class, we got the chance to work in a group and put together our own photoshoot! We created the mood board, pulled clothes from a showroom, worked with a model, and directed the shoot.
Fashion Lab model standing next to moving van on street

The classes were wonderful, fun, and allowed me to learn a lot about the Fashion Industry. They only went from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.—with an hour lunch break—and so once we wrapped up for the day, it was time to explore the city! 

I had never been to New York without my family before, which gave me a lot of freedom. Almost immediately, I made friends who I still keep in touch with nearly four years later. We visited The Sugar Factory, explored spots of Brooklyn, went shopping along Fifth Avenue, and had many more adventures.

This program was the reason I fell in love with LIM and the city. If I hadn’t done it, I would’ve missed out on getting to experience how amazing college can be while I was still in high school. If anything, I wish I did more weeks of this program!

Learn more about LIM's high school programs here!

Tessa Aldridge

A blog post by Tessa Aldridge

Tessa Aldridge graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Media. In addition to working on The Lexington Line, she was a co-leader of the LIM Blog Club and a Fashion Scholar. She was also part of the team in the College's Office of Marketing and Communications.