I grew up in small town rural Manitoba so when I decided to move to the big city to attend university, it was a really big deal. When I was in high school, I really liked my accounting class so naturally I started off with classes that were needed as prerequisites to major in Accounting at the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business. As luck would have it, I happened to sign up for Dynamics of the Fashion Industry as an elective and I absolutely loved it.
It seemed fitting that I loved Human Ecology because just the Faculty building alone is enough to make you want to stay forever. It just has a friendly warm feeling to it, all of the professors are so friendly and know you by your first name and back in the day, they had the comfiest pink chairs up on third floor that I always wished I could take home with me.
The other reason why I loved Textile Sciences was because I grew up with my Nana teaching me how to sew. When I was born, I was diagnosed with Thrombocytopenia Absent Radii Syndrome, which means I am missing the radius in both of my forearms that makes my arms shorter. So whenever I would get a new shirt or sweater or jacket, my Nana would have to tailor it to make the sleeves shorter. Eventually, she taught me how to sew and some of my favourite memories are sitting in front of her old Singer in her sewing room learning from her years of experience.
After I was accepted into the Faculty and I started pattern development, it never occurred to me that I might have limitations in that class. My instructor asked to meet with me before classes started and she was so accommodating and helpful when there was something that I needed. I had to work twice as long as all of the other students to get things done but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I really like what possibilities Textile Sciences can have. I find functional clothing fascinating. For my final project, I engineered a pair of wheelchair accessible pants that were made for someone who was always in the seated position instead of the standing position. I like things to have purpose and to help out if they can. The four years that I spent studying Textile Sciences were some of my favourite years I have ever experienced in my life and if I could go back and learn it all over again, I would.
Christen Roos is a graduate of the Faculty of Human Ecology with a major in Product Development from the Department of Textile Sciences. She is currently a store manager for a local men’s workwear retailer specializing in Canadian outerwear. Her passions include finding functional clothing for a specific desired end use, raising awareness to people living with disabilities and being obsessed with makeup. Her Feel Good, Look Good outlook on life is her way of finding the positive things in life that make her heart smile.
