Brooke

YEAR OF GRADUATION: 2004
MAJOR AT CALVIN: English
CAREER: pattern maker in New York City
FAV LECTURE AT CALVIN:Maya Angelou

When Brooke was 18, poised to enter college for the first time, her life as it is now was truly unimagined. She chose Calvin for it’s academic reputation, but like most incoming students, had no idea just where it might take her.

Over four years, she studied English-language literature, grammar, linguistics and writing.

After graduation, she spent five years speaking Spanish—first teaching in Central and South America, and then studying pattern making at a fashion institute in Barcelona.

English major to fashion professional—how does that even happen?

To Brooke, it makes complete sense given the kind of education she received at Calvin, one she describes as “eclectic.” She may have studied English, but through those classes—and classes in other areas—she discovered her passion for language, global cultures and apparel arts.

The Calvin classroom was a safe environment in which to think new thoughts, explore unimagined places and ultimately, form a lifelong approach to the world.

“Professors were a sounding board for what my friends and I were unearthing about the arts, philosophy and religion.”

Now that Brooke’s found her way into fashion in the big city, she misses what happened in her classes at Calvin.

“Calvin’s classrooms are intimate, relationally-engaged and always delightfully challenging!”