College for Kids brings creativity, fun to MCC campus
Cecilia Reeves walked into Fashion Designers 101 ready to try something new. By the middle of the week, the 10-year-old from Meridian had already transformed old clothes into an outfit of her own.
Her skirt started as a cheetah-print shirt. Her top began as a long-sleeve orange shirt.
“I cut off the sleeves and made them for arms,” Reeves said. “I turned this into a skirt with ribbons, and I used a little piece to make a heart.”
Reeves is one of more than 500 students taking part in Meridian Community College’s College for Kids, which is now in its first week. The annual summer camp brings children ages 6-12 to campus for two weeks of learning, creativity and fun. The second week of College for Kids is set for June 8-12.
The hands-on camp offers a fun and educational experience in a safe and supportive environment. With more than 30 classes ranging from pony riding and slime making to rocket blasting and fashion design, College for Kids gives curious young minds plenty of ways to explore.
Fashion Designers 101 is a new class this year. It gives students a chance to sketch outfits, design patterns and create their own fashion pieces while learning about color, fabric, creativity and confidence.
Reeves said she signed up because she wanted to try something different.
“I kind of know putting ideas together for outfits,” she said. “When I came here and saw those pieces, I knew I had to use them.”
Throughout the week, students worked with color wheels, tote bags, clothing pieces and other design projects. They made vision boards, experimented with materials and finished their clothing creations by the end of the week.
For Reeves, the work was fun from the start. She said she likes cheetah print, and it was one of the first materials that caught her eye. Another part of her outfit, a gray waistcoat, had to come off because it was too small, but that did not stop her from being proud of what she created.
Her next project was just as exciting. The class was preparing to make bags, and Reeves had already spotted leftover material, a hat and other pieces she wanted to use.
“It looks like something out of a fairy tale,” she said.
She also had someone special in mind.
“This might be a surprise for my mom,” Reeves said. “I hope she’ll like it.”
Reeves is not the only one in her family taking part in College for Kids. Her younger sister is also attending classes, including Gross Slime Time and a cooking class.
“She’s really good at them both,” Reeves said.
Cawessa Dotson, who teaches Fashion Designers 101, said students have embraced the new class.
“They have created some very awesome designs out of the clothing,” Dotson said. “They love it.”
Dotson said the goal is to show students that fashion is about more than clothes. It also includes colors, patterns and using their imagination.
“The main thing that I want to focus on is to let them know their fashion,” she said. “It’s more than just clothes. Use their mind and be creative.”
For Dotson, the idea behind the class is simple.
“Take nothing and make it into something,” she said. “That was the main thing.”
For Reeves, that lesson is already taking shape one ribbon, stitch and piece of fabric at a time. And even though this is her first year at College for Kids, she already knows it will not be her last.
“Yes, definitely,” she said.
For more information about College for Kids, visit meridiancc.edu/c4k.