Banking on KC – Joy Rhodes of Johnson County Community College: Fashioning the Future
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Kelly Scanlon: Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode is Joy Rhodes, the chair of the Fashion merchandising and Design Department at Johnson County Community College. Welcome, Joy.
Joy Rhodes: Thank you for having me.
Kelly Scanlon: I'm so glad to have you on to showcase this program because it's really kind of a hidden gems here in our community, and it's really one of the few programs in the region that offers this level of professional preparation.
So give us a peek behind the curtain, a brief overview of what the program involves.
Joy Rhodes: Well, thank you for giving me an opportunity to brag a little bit about our, uh, as you said, hidden gem.
Kelly Scanlon: It is.
Joy Rhodes: Fashion merchandising and design program at Johnson County Community College. Ha. We have two a a s degree programs under our umbrella.
They start out together in the beginning with some fundamental classes, sort of learning a little bit about all facets of the industry, sort of exposing students to things that they may not have considered as a possible career choice, and then they split out into totally different directions. We have a direction for fashion design and technology, which is.
It focuses more on the product development side of the business or the wholesale side of the business, and where students take classes in apparel, construction, pattern development, uh, learning how to draw with a heavy emphasis on technical design. And then we also have the fashion merchandising and marketing program, which is, sort of focuses on the, what we call the to consumer side of the business. They kind of focus in three different silos. The first being the most common one, the retail sector, right? With classes in visual merchandising, store planning, online retailing. The second one would be the buying direction.
Being a buyer for a store with classes in merchandising, math, assortment planning.
Kelly Scanlon: That sounds fun.
Joy Rhodes: Data analytics. Yeah, this is, this is the one that is a little bit more intensive. Uh, and then marketing. Obviously, marketing has a lot of different facets of consumer behavior. Um, but we focus a lot in just general marketing and then also social media marketing, which of course is a big thing right now.
Kelly Scanlon: So with all this going on and the fact that it is, as we've both said, a hidden gem, but with all this that's going on, when people learn about this, what surprises them the most about it?
Joy Rhodes: I think what surprises people the most would be the level of quality and professionalism that we get out of our students for just a two-year community college program and we take great pride in our curriculum and we don't sugarcoat it at all. All of our faculty have worked in the industry or currently working in the industry, some of them, so we know what it takes firsthand and we wanna develop skills in students so they can get jobs.
Kelly Scanlon: As you mentioned, the program combines design and merchandising.
With this dual focus, how does that prepare students better? And why is it so important that you offer both tracks?
Joy Rhodes: Well, actually both tracks go together. They're both important. They can't survive one without the other, obviously. But there's a lot of employment opportunities that, uh, most people don't realize are even out there.
So, you know, traditional people, when they think of fashion, they're thinking, oh, I wanna be a designer, or I wanna be a buyer. Those are really the two sort of. Predominant career paths that we think of. But there is so much more, so many more opportunities for careers. So, uh, we introduce them from everything from raw materials all the way till the consumer makes a purchase.
So careers like sourcing or textile science or surface design or event planning, stylists, manufacturers' rep, these are all careers that are kind of in the middle there that people don't even really think about.
Kelly Scanlon: Yeah. Event planning, you wouldn't think about that, but sure. You have fashion shows and other kinds of events. So tell us about technology. I know that technology is, some people would say invading, other people would say, advancing, I guess, but technology is hitting all industries. So, uh, how do you introduce your students to the technology that is, uh, advancing the design industry?
Joy Rhodes: We have an element of technology built into both programs. We pride ourselves- In fact, one of our degrees is called apparel design and technology for a reason. We have industry-standard technology stuff that's used in the industry daily built into our curriculum. So, for example, on the design side we use the Adobe Creative Suite, which is. Industry standard for most, a lot of industries.
Um, but we also have digital pattern making. We have, uh, product lifecycle management system for doing technical designs and specifications in tech packs. On the retail side, we have smart draw. We do floor plans and elevations for doing planograms in store planning. So we have an element of technology built into all of our classes or a lot of our classes.
Kelly Scanlon: Another thing that you have that aids the students that. Again, I didn't know about this until I started preparing to interview you, and that is the JCC Historical Fashion Collection. I know it's not open to the public, but it is a remarkable collection and I know you weave that into the curriculum. So, tell us about what it is and how it works with the curriculum.
Joy Rhodes: Yes. We are very blessed to have our historic fashion collection on campus. It is quite another hidden gem. It's primarily used as a teaching tool. So a lot of our classes, in fact, most of our classes will have an element of where we get the students either into the collection or the collection will come out into the classroom.
Some obvious ones would be history of fashion, right? Um, when you hit the 20th century our students tend to be visual learners and kinesthetic learners not, they don't like to just be barked at or lectured to. So if we can show them examples it lets them get inside and see it, it is much more meaningful.
But even in my product development class, students that are developing their collection for a fashion show, they might use it for inspiration. Um, you know, whether that be by a certain decade or a different designer or a certain technique that they see, that can be a jumping off point for creativity.
But yeah, we use it a lot in the, in the classroom. We also have collaborated on occasion we will collaborate. I have two faculty members Britt Benjamin and Audrey McKayless who curated a collection and collaboration with the Johnson County Museum. So we have created some opportunities to get it out for the public to see it, and we wanna do more and more of that.
We've kind of got an effort right now to try and do more of that, and we're actually actively raising funds for the collection so that we can better preserve it for generations to come.
Kelly Scanlon: If I remember right, the. Pieces go back to the 1850s, the mid-19th century. Yes. So we're coming up on 200 years almost.
Yeah.
Joy Rhodes: We have pieces from the late 1800s or large, large grouping of stuff from like the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties.
Kelly Scanlon: How did you acquire all that?
Joy Rhodes: Good question. Um, it originated with Fashion Group International, the local chapter of fashion group and international. I would say probably the early, the eighties.
Sometimes they were at a position where they could not maintain it, so they donated it to the college. And the college we have, it's been moved several times over the course of, I've been there 21 years. So over the course of that time, it's moved several times. They're all pieces that have been donated by Kansas City Fashion, uh, you know, society, women, until recently we did.
About, I wanna say three years ago we received a very large donation from a donor out of San Francisco, but we're bursting at the seams. We have very little space to add more and we're hoping to get a better space so that we can grow it and have it be preserved for. Generations to come.
Kelly Scanlon: Let's talk about the annual fashion show.
It's, if not the biggest, one of the biggest things that you do all year. And it's not entirely run by the students, but the students take play a major role in making this happen. Uh, so talk with us about what's involved and really what it's like to watch your students be involved in this and, and, and, uh, showcase their ideas in this way.
Joy Rhodes: It is our big once-a-year event. It is a fundraiser. For our department, it's for student scholarships. So both sides of our program, both design students and merchandising students are required as a part of their capstone classes to participate in the fashion show in order to graduate. We start on, in August, the design students are, uh, required to develop a collection of five unique looks, their own collection and run it and put it on the runway in April.
And the merchandising students get involved in the marketing event planning on that side of things and also running behind running the show, be behind the scenes, a lot of a model and things like that. So they both are involved in it. Um. Uh, but yes, it's a, it's no small deal.
We collaborate with our culinary department, the Johnson County Community College Culinary Department. They do some of our food for our event, and we set up a runway in the culinary building on campus. Uh, and transform that space for our show.
Kelly Scanlon: How fun. How fun, how many students participate?
Joy Rhodes: This last year we had 10 designers, and then we also do a scene for sort of our, our newer students, uh, draping scene for a class.
And we usually have between 10 and 15 scenes in our show. It depends on the year. In fact the first place winner, our scholarship winner this past show is Rachel Wisniewski and her mother is actually a associate here at Country Club Bank.
Kelly Scanlon: Just as you said that your students really don't like to just be lectured to. They wanna feel, they wanna touch or they wanna see, uh, some of, of what they're doing. They're not just studying fashion, they're, they're actually living it in, you know, the same way in addition to the. Fashion show that we just discussed, which gives them a chance to really live it.
They have internships with some of the local businesses and brands here, so they're really getting that real world experience. Tell us about some of the exciting opportunities your students have had with those internships.
Joy Rhodes: So we make a concerted effort to collaborate and get out into the community and get our students out into the community.
We do that in several different ways. Our, uh, design students are required to do two semesters of internships. And our merchandising students are required to do three, which is basically they're getting credit for their work experience. So that is one way that we collaborate within the community. But we also bring we bring in guest speakers from local area professionals.
We also do a lot of field trips. Our, I mentioned earlier, students are experiential learners. So it's great to be able to take our students out into the community and then we get validated by what the they're seeing and we become more credible. Um, so this last semester we had some students, uh, I have interns that are working with some local area designers.
A lot of them are working in retail, right in the area. And we did some field trips. We did some field trips. We did Essence of Australia, which is headquartered here. We've done the newly, which is uh, down south in Raytown Raymore. So they love that experiential learning because it's the best way they learn.
Right.
Kelly Scanlon: So you have this collaboration with the Johnson County Museum, but you also have something going on right there at JCCC itself at the Nerman Museum. Tell us about that. Wow.
Joy Rhodes: Right. We have the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is housed on our campus and there is an exhibit that's up right now that's called a Match Made in Heaven, and it's an exhibit featuring Catherine Bernhard, who is a, a artist, a contemporary artist out of St. Louis and Jeremy Scott, who is a very famous fashion designer, uh, who is actually from Lee's Summit here in Missouri. Local guy. And it's a must-see, it's, it's incredible. Uh, I, words can't even describe it.
Kelly Scanlon: I think it even got a write-up in Vogue.
Joy Rhodes: Oh, yes. There was a write-up in Vogue about it. And we recently had a fundraiser event, a gala event, and brought in people from all over the country.
Um, yeah, but it runs through October, so definitely go see that.
Kelly Scanlon: If I remember right, uh, you've even been fortunate enough at times to be able to take students to Paris?
Joy Rhodes: Well, we have, uh, a study abroad program for our department. Well, at the college in general, we have study abroad, but we, for the last, I'd say for six or seven years, we have a partnership in Florence, Italy where we have sent students every summer they can go there, they can study for three to six weeks. Um, take class there and then those credits transfer back to the college and count towards their degree. So that partnership's been going for several years now. In fact, I have seven students going this summer. They're leaving next week, actually.
Kelly Scanlon: Oh, fun.
Joy Rhodes: And then we are introducing a new one to Paris that will be next, starting next summer. And that's actually a faculty-led one. So they'll take a class here, uh, on campus. And then that group, that class will travel together at the end of that class. So they're a little different, but they're both opportunities for traveling and studying fashion in Europe, we also do trips to New York and to Vegas to the buying trade shows here domestically as well.
Kelly Scanlon: Yeah. So, so it sounds like a full-on experience they're getting, uh, in addition to the classroom. What's also interesting is that, uh, just as your students don't just learn fashion, they live it, you don't just teach fashion, you've lived it yourself from the retail side, you've actually also worked at software companies that have developed some of the software tools, possibly even some of the ones you talked about earlier that are used in the industry. So what, how has that real-world perspective informed your approach to the department's curriculum and the faculty, the rest of the faculty that you work with?
Joy Rhodes: Well, our curriculum is built with the intention for students to gain relevant skills to get a job in the industry. So it is a requirement actually in our department that all of our faculty, if you're getting hired to teach in our department, that you have industry. Experience. So all of the faculty that teach in our department have worked in the industry in the capacity of whatever class they teach.
Or they're currently working. I have several part-time professors that are still currently working in the industry during the day and then teaching. We're constantly. Keeping, uh, striving to remain current on what's going on in the industry. That's really important to us is to know what's going on and to, to continually be updating our curriculum and making it current so our students are coming out with skills.
Kelly Scanlon: Exactly.
Let's talk about something broader here. Sustainability and ethics are major themes in today's fashion world. So how is your program preparing students to think critically and creatively about those two issues?
Joy Rhodes: Yeah, well, it's no secret that fashion industry is one of the largest polluters on the planet, unfortunately.
Um, but this generation of kids that we are seeing more recently are, they're very concerned about our planet. They come to us concerned. They have a sustainability mindset. They are, you know, recycle, reduce, reuse, repurpose people, the DIY'ers. But most of our classes have an element of teaching awareness or best practices for lowering the industry's impact on the environment. We hit it from a lot of different perspectives.
Kelly Scanlon: You've had graduates from your program go on to work for some really major international brands like Nike, uh, Kate Spade. What does it take to launch from Overland Park to the national spotlight like that.
Joy Rhodes: It's a competitive industry, I'm not gonna lie.
But I would say probably some of the most important things that students would need is grit, determination. Obviously we, we provide that or they come out of our program with a pretty solid portfolio of work. I mean, it is a business. Yes, it's a business. So those soft skills are really important too.
Kelly Scanlon: One of the other things we haven't talked about is that your program is well known for, it's a two year program, but it's well known for, uh, students who wanna go on to four-year programs. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Joy Rhodes: Yes. In fact, I just built a new pro, uh, pathway. Yes. Um, we have what are called articulation agreements with several four-year colleges.
They can seamlessly take their whole two years, uh, from Johnson County Community College, seamlessly transfer all of those credits over and then continue to pursue a bachelor's. In just two years. Mm-hmm. So that's a huge economical savings. Yeah. Obviously our tuition rates are far lower than some of these major institutions, but we have pathways for students to study both technical design or international marketing at FIT in New York, which is Fashion Institute of Technology, kind of widely considered the primo fashion school in the United States States. But we also have pathways here locally. We have, uh, UCM has a program Stevens College in Columbia. Yes. I just opened up Columbia College in Chicago as a pathway and I'm working on ASU FIDM on the West coast. Our program is a good way to get solid foundational skills and, and kind of try it on to see if this is what you wanna do.
For in an economical way, right? For a smaller price tag. And then and then should they wanna transfer on then they're only paying for two more years to get a bachelor's degree, which is a huge savings. When you think about everything
Kelly Scanlon: that you've talked about today and many things that I know that we probably didn't even begin to cover, and you just think about the students that you have been involved with, what's a moment that has made you step back and say.
Ah, this is why I do this.
Joy Rhodes: When I watch students take pride in their own work, when they show their pride and their, you know, beaming, that makes me beam and it makes me happy. Uh, it could be just a little small aha moment in the classroom. I'm like, ah, that's why I do it. But, or it could be a, you know, walking across the street at graduation.
Kelly Scanlon: Finally, for anyone out there thinking even after everything we've talked about, but thinking that fashion is just about clothes, what would you say to help them see how it intersects with things like business, culture, technology, and even psychology? I mean, based on what you just said about the pride.
Joy Rhodes: We all are touched by fashion and clothing every day.
We don't have a choice, but that decision can make an impact on your whole day, right? What you choose to wear. You can, you can give you a confidence boost. It could give you a sense of belonging. It could be just simply comfort, right? We wanna be comfortable or we wanna feel safe behind every customer feeling that is, you know, whatever reason they choose to put that on is a whole team of people that have brought that product to life.
And I think a lot of people don't even think about that when they wake up in the morning and put their pants on.
Kelly Scanlon: That's true. Very true
Joy Rhodes: I love what I'm seeing right now with the younger generation and the recycling and the thrifting movement and, and sort of repurposing things that have already been made into new things because that is just an element of sustainability.
Um, and it's also like very creative. And some of the stuff they come up with is.
Kelly Scanlon: Yeah, sometimes more so sometimes it's harder to take something that's already there and change it, you know? Yeah. To start from scratch. I mean,
Joy Rhodes: and I love the reason they're doing that. Right. The reason they're doing that is 'cause they don't wanna go and buy the sheep disposable clothing.
Yeah, yeah. Uh, it's more about quality over quantity and creativity over, you know, mass-produced. So I just love it.
Kelly Scanlon: For anyone who has listened to the show and wants to know more, what's the best way to do that?
Joy Rhodes: Well, obviously a website. If you just go to the JCCC main page and you do a search and just search fashion
Kelly Scanlon: mm-hmm.
Joy Rhodes: It'll bring up our homepage, which tells you everything you need to know about fashion. Design and merchandising. Um, you can even watch our show on there.
Kelly Scanlon: The fashion show.
Joy Rhodes: Yeah, there's a link on for our YouTube show. This past year is probably not up yet because it's still being edited.
Kelly Scanlon: But Joy, thank you so much for coming and sharing all this information with us and for what you're doing, uh, with these kids. It's just wonderful.
Joy Rhodes: Thank you. Well, thank you for giving me the opportunity.
Joe Close: This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Joy Rhodes, chair of the Fashion Merchandising and Design Department at Johnson County Community College for being our guest. On this episode of Banking on KC. Joy gave us a behind-the-scenes look at one of the region's hidden gems JCCC's Fashion Merchandising and Design Program.
Through a dual focus on fashion design and merchandising, integration of technology and hands-on experiences like their annual fashion show and internships, students graduate with professional portfolios and job-ready skills. Joy also shared how the department embraces sustainability, fosters creativity through resources like the historic fashion collection, and opens global opportunities via study abroad programs.
At Country Club Bank, we value programs like these that build talent and drive innovation in our community. We're especially proud of Rachel Wisniewski, daughter of our associate, Cecilia Wisniewski, who won first place in the fashion show. Thanks for tuning in, this week. We're Banking on You, Kansas City. Country Club Bank – Member FDIC.