A student with a plan

Design management major Chloe Hughes is a student with a plan. Rather than just the desire to earn a degree, she wants more. This transfer student from Virginia Western Community College wishes to feel challenged in order to better herself.

“I made the decision that this is where my dreams will be supported, that this is where I will be pushed by my professors to be the absolute best I can be, and this is where I will have to work harder than I ever have before,” said Hughes.

She visited campus; met with Holly Cline, chair of the Department of Design; and attended Transfer Quest. Then after hosting a summer and beauty segment on WSLS 10 Daytime Blue Ridge, Hughes sent Cline an email update and Cline recommended her for a student spotlight.

In discussing her reasons for attending Radford, Hughes mentioned the sense of community she felt when visiting the university and credits Cline for making her feel welcomed into the department.

“Dr. Cline was extremely motivating and very up front about how hard I was going to need to work to get there and be in this program,” said Hughes.

It takes a certain determination for a student to revel in the notion of hard work, but Hughes is not one to flinch from such ideas. Good decisions and drive add to her confidence in approaching her chosen major.

“I could have never learned the things I have learned in the past few years if I would have gone to Radford straight out of high school in 2011,” she said. This choice helped her move forward from many personal setbacks and she believes now there are no excuses in this world to hold her back.

Entrepreneurship, business, and management are Hughes’ passions and she wants to learn about all sides of the design industry.

“I hope to hold a position one day in a company that I can be myself, be as creative as I want to be, and work together with a team of awesome individuals to make the most amazing things happen!” she said.

“Whether I create the next best lingerie company, open up my own business, or whether I get to be on the design team for Nike or Reebok – whatever I do, I know that this is where I need to be in order to get there!”

Hughes already has a strong post-secondary beginning. Before 2014, during a winter break, she worked for a popular lingerie brand. Having a dream to own her own similar brand, she learned from the experience. Her idea of costumer service and general business practices differed from theirs. She knew she wanted to approach her business differently.

She decided to contact the Grandin CoLab, an innovations hub for entrepreneurs, located in Roanoke and asked them for advice on starting her lingerie brand. Interning in their Student Regional Innovation Program for a summer, they helped her to create a business plan and to brainstorm ideas with other interns, but she soon realized that she needed to do a lot more research.

During this time, she launched her own fashion blog in June 2014.

“It became more than I ever thought it would be and I began working with companies across the world and writing about their products,” she said.

It opened up many opportunities, including assisting teaching a “Fashion is Art” summer camp for middle school girls called “Fashion Is Art” at Arnold R. Burton Technology Center in Roanoke County.

While at Radford, she plans to continue blogging, but hopes to find a team of like-minded students to help her redesign and update her website. Ideally these would include a web designer, photographer, creative design student, and fashion designer.

To see Hughes blog, visit www.fashionbombblog.com.

To learn more about the Department of Design, visit www.radford.edu/design.