Friday, December 14, 2012
Desserts, Designers, and the Dominican “Struts Its Stuff”
Desserts, Designers, and the Dominican “Struts
Its Stuff”
Joy Cho
What happens when you put fashion,
food, and fun into one night? An enjoyable evening with over 150 people in
attendance and close to $4,700 raised for the Dominican Republic--at least,
this is what happened with Desserts, Designers, and the Dominican. The fashion
show and silent auction, generously sponsored by local boutiques, businesses,
and the WCS community, went off without a hitch, but the planning process of
the first-time event was no simple or easy .
Jessica Bush, co-leader of the
event, admits that she went to her mom for comfort during times of
frustration--which there were plenty of. Being rejected by stores and
businesses were quite common occurrences. But discouragement was quickly cast
aside when the big picture came to mind. Jessica says that helping the
Dominicans kept her motivated and pushing forward even when she was tempted to
give up. She has doubtless gained valuable professional skills through the
experience as well. “It’s taught me organization skills,” she reflects. “It
helped me break out of my comfort zone in a lot of areas.” Most importantly,
though, she was blown away by God’s control over the whole event. “It made me
trust God a lot more,” Jessica says. “It was incredible to see how He was
working.”
Dr. Buzz, senior class adviser and
WCHS principal, showed little sign of amazement at the success of Desserts,
Designers, and the Dominican. “I had very high expectations,” he says honestly.
“But I had never seen one [a fashion show].” Although Dr. Buzz was not in town
for the event, he says that he has heard plenty of praise: “It surpassed even
what I thought it would be,” he says. His dedication to the project from the
start proved to be an invaluable source of help--and also as an inspiration for
other student-led endeavors. Dr. Buzz expresses a hope for a future “full of
empowered students” when the ideas come from students, and the adults back them
up but let the students themselves take charge and initiate projects. “It
[Desserts, Designers, and the Dominican] reinforces my positive outlook on such
things,” he says with conviction. He is uncertain about the future of this
event, but hopes that perhaps another class carries on the project. “It will go
nowhere unless people buy into it,” he says. “But I’d love to see it continue.”
Jessica adds, “It’d be cool to make it an annual thing.”
Those who strutted on the runway
also say they enjoyed being a part of the show. Even Donyell Miller, who has
model experience at John Casablancas, says that “it was a lot of fun.” Her
favorite part of being a model was the preparation that took place before
arriving on the runway, such as hair and makeup. She also liked “experiencing
the nerves before” as she anticipated the moment when she would be on the
catwalk for all to see. The models had to arrive hours beforehand to practice
their walks and to try on their outfits, but even so, Donyell agrees, “It was
totally worth it.”
Now, the clothes are returned, the
auction items are sold, and the last of the “thank you” notes are in the
process of being mailed out. The only truly lasting thing is the remembrance of
God’s deeds and His moving hand throughout the entire process--which were
amazingly witnessed. As Jessica sums it up, “It was obvious to see God was
working through this whole experience.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)