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Home > Featured Stories > Engaging Society > August 2008 > Ready for the RunwayReady for the Runway
"It is a really great experience, seeing what everything is like in college life."
Julie Leonard, high school student and STEP participant
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It's like Project Runway, Wolfpack-style.
High school seniors with an interest in fashion design came to the College of Textiles earlier this summer to follow their dreams – researching, constructing and modeling original clothing designs under the watchful eye of Summer Textile Exploration Program {STEP] professors and leaders.
"I really think that for the students that come, it makes them aware of a lot more about what textiles are than they ever perceived," said Dr. Cindy Istook, who specializes in apparel production and development at NC State. "It’s not necessarily our project that opens their eyes, but all of the other things that they see when they come to the STEP program that opens their eyes, because they find that it’s so much more than they ever imagined."
The College of Textiles consists of four one-week sessions for rising high school seniors. STEP was started in the early 1970's and was previously known as the Textiles Summer Research Program, before its name was changed in 2000. Each week, up to 28 students are chosen based on their academic success, extracurricular activities and their interest in NC State and science-related fields. Participants dedicate their time to a project pertaining to polymer and color chemistry, engineering, apparel, fabric design, computer science or business management, with each student choosing the project of his or her greatest interest.
"I didn’t expect for us to be really making clothes," student participant Krystal Benson said. "It was really fun to have that experience."
Students also attend presentations on scholarships, the admissions process and take a campus tour. Over the past six years, approximately 200 STEP participants have enrolled at NC State, and all students completing STEP are automatically nominated for the North Carolina Textile Foundation's Centennial Scholarship process.
