GKS U Personal Statement
This is my personal statement. I would appreciate your opinions on it.
Family and Education background
significant experiences you have had; risk you have taken and achievement you have made, persons or event that have had a significant influence on you.
Extracurricular activities; such as club activities or work experiences
Skills you have acquired
Like Ralph Lauren said, "Fashion is about something that comes from within you". Being able to create something new not only requires knowledge from institutions, but natural creativity is needed, imaginative ability, and a great deal of passion for this choice of profession. As a highly imaginative and creative person, I see fashion as a form of art. A way to express one's inner feelings and thoughts. For people like me who find self-expression difficult, having an individual style gives us the ability to show our personalities and beliefs.
Coming from an average family of five that have a background in computers, machines and dressmaking, my career choice was a great concern for my dad as he wanted me to achieve higher education in Sciences or Business. As a child, I was interested in fields that involved practical, hence my interest in computers, machines and dresses. My dad played a big role in nurturing my interest in computers and machines. As an electronics repairer, he provided us with a second-hand computer unit and other electronic gadgets for our usage. I was a natural in understanding how machines work within the first time of its usage. Therefore, my decision to pursue fashion was a great concern to him. His apprehensions were somehow justified, as Fashion was not a well-respected career during his time and it still hasn't gained sufficient respect now in Ghana. As a young girl, I was fascinated by the fashion world. The complicated designs created were astonishing to me. I started my basic education at Albert Sam Memorial School up to B. S 5. My parents then transferred me to Sir Peter Hold Brook Smith Memorial School. Transferring to a new school was not a simple task. I had to write an entrance exam to get into the school, but I failed the test. My parents didn't believe I could fail, as I was a very good student at the previous school. Therefore, they decided to get my test remarked, just as they thought I hadn't failed the test but my test paper wasn't marked properly. I was accepted at the school after the proprietress ensured my admission was properly assessed, and I adjusted to the school easily and quickly. I joined a cultural dance group at this school, where we performed at the school's speech day. This experience made me understand my culture well as we were taught about it. I studied at this school for only primary 6 (B.S.6).
Growing up as a young teenager, I had already seen a plethora of fashion exhibits both locally and internationally on fashion channels. I was interested in French fashion as a young girl especially haute couture. I always wondered how designers were able to create such complex designs. But as time went by, my interest started shifting towards casual and street wears. Designer brands like Alexander Wang, Fila, Off-White etc gradually pivoted my attention towards street wear. My first glimpse at Korean fashion was through a K-drama suggested to me by a friend around 2010 before I started junior high. It was like a new fashion world had just unveiled itself to me. Subsequently, my interest in Korean fashion gradually developed into the desire of studying in a Korean high school, but with little knowledge about studying abroad, the desire to study in Korea remained a dream. I studied at University Junior High School for a three-year junior high education. During this period, we had to take a course in basic design technology plus the other compulsory courses we had, where we will learn about the three main vocational skills: home economics, pre-tech and visual art. This course became my first stepping stone in solidifying my decision to become a fashion designer. We studied about all three subjects for a year, before choosing one of the three vocational subjects I studied for throughout the rest of my studies. I chose to study Home Economics as my elective for my junior high education. During my stay at university junior high school, I joined a cultural dance troupe called "mmensoun" since I was interested in Ghanaian cultural dance, especially my ethnic group dances. We had the opportunity to dance at programs like University of Cape Coast graduation ceremonies, speech days at our school, and other programs organised by the school. I completed my junior high school education around July 2014. Before I registered for my electives at the senior high school level, I had a conversation with my dad about my field of choice. He told me to choose between science or business because he wanted me to become a computer engineer or any other job related to computers, as in his field of work, and also because of the insecurities he had with the fashion industry around that time. Although I had an interest in computers, I wasn't as passionate as I was about fashion. I considered his uncertainties about my field and talked him into coming to terms with my decision to study clothing and textiles. I convinced him that fashion was a growing industry, and if he allowed me to study it, I will strive to be successful and make him proud of me. In the course of my second year in senior high school, I joined the entertainment club, where I was part of the design team. We used to organize mini fashion shows on campus. Through these shows, I realized I had good imaginative skills, as we were not using sewn dresses, but rather using fabrics to make dresses instantly, by draping them directly on the model's body while using pins while the show was ongoing. This program gave me my first experience of working under pressure as we were only two making the drapes on the models. Being able to use my imagination to create dresses excited me a lot when I was in high school. Our clothing teacher used to praise us a lot for our creative thinking. I realized after completing high school that my biggest supporter was our clothing teacher. The confidence she gave me was what helped me to sustain my interest in fashion and also to seek more knowledge to improve myself.
During my senior high school level, my clothing teacher and my class used to call me to check their machines every time they had simple issues. my teacher also used to call me to help her sew with her handle machine that she used in class, because she had gotten so used to the electric machine and she needed someone who could sew very fast. I was always the one to be either called or volunteer. These things motivated me a lot as they made me feel trusted a lot when they asked for help on these issues. And also, being able to help them gave me a lot of joy as I was able to share my self-taught knowledge with them. For the practical section of the clothing and textiles final exam, we had to completely design three different garments and model them for the exams. We were the first school the examiners started with during our year group WASSCE exams in Ghana, so we had nothing to refer to as to how the invigilators will react to our garments. After I modelled my dresses, I was told one of the invigilators was looking for me. I was very scared as I thought I had messed up too much for them to eventually call me out for it but to my surprise, she wanted to take pictures of the traditional wear "Kaba and Slit" I made because they thought my design was unique and it caught their attention. As this was the first Kaba and Slit I had made in my life, I was ecstatic. This experience gave me a great boost of confidence and made me extremely passionate about expressing myself through my choice of clothing and colour.
After my senior high education, I got the opportunity to learn make-up artistry from a professional make-up artist in 2018, then I did a training in fashion designing at a fashion school in Cape Coast in 2019. After this, I worked with my aunt who is also a seamstress for a period of time. I was also self-studying pattern making and other fashion related courses through YouTube and fashion blogs. With the little knowledge I acquired through this method I started sewing for people. In 2020, my father introduced me to an entrepreneurship program that was organized by the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), that was funded by Mastercard and the Government of Ghana to equip the youth with practical skills and start their own businesses. I was part of the successful applicant who got the opportunity to train under a German-trained Fashion designer who has been in the industry for more than 40 years. We trained under her from April of 2021 to November 2021. During our training she advised us to get a degree in Fashion Design from a foreign university as this could help us in pursuing our career in Ghana and help us build a very good portfolio.
In recent years, South Korea has gain firm grounds in the fashion world. Their fashion has captured a lot of people's minds and hearts, with how they manage somehow to be fashion-forward enough to be interesting while at the same time creating wearable fashion. Korean fashion has grown to become the fashion powerhouse of the Asian continent. They have also ranked in the top OCED countries for scholastic achievement and educational competitiveness. South Korea is also considered to be one of the safest countries for foreigners to visit for its attractive tourist locations or to study in. The GKS scholarship can provide me with good resources to further my studies in fashion designing, as the country is also well known for it creative and artistic culture.
Fashion has a great impact on the economy. It can be used as a means to provide employment opportunities for citizens and also bring revenue to the country through the medium of exports. The Korean Government also highlighted fashion and art as the next 'soft power' to be exported alongside K-pop and K-dramas. The diversity of the Korean fashion industry gives more opportunities to young designers trying to make a name for themselves in the industry. Therefore, making the Korean fashion industry one of the largest contributors to the Korean economy, forecast to have generated a market size to amount around 40.8 trillion Korean won as of 2020. Also, studying in South Korea will give me a chance to experience a dynamic country of ancient history and the cutting-edge technology used in the modern day Fashion Industry. With this knowledge in mind, getting this opportunity to study in Korea through the Global Korea Scholarship will help me grow my creative and artistic skills, thereby improving my knowledge to be beneficial to both countries. Studying in Korea will help me learn new languages, appreciate different cultures, overcome challenges of living in another country, and gain a greater understanding of the world.