FINDING HER PASSION

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

While Jim and Annie Roberts had "nothing to do with horses," their youngest daughter, Molly, had her sixth birthday at a ranch, started taking riding lessons and has been involved in the equine industry ever since.

"My mom laughs about it," said Molly, a rising senior on the Baylor equestrian team, "because they have nothing to do with horses. I just always wanted to ride. They signed me up for lessons, then it got out of hand from there and just kept going."

More recently, Molly's passion has been in apparel design, a feeling that was only affirmed during the spring semester when she was one of 27 college students who got the chance to be a part of the U of NYFW program during New York Fashion Week in a partnership with CLC and IMG.

"(IMG) basically directs the whole New York Fashion Week," she said, "so you get a behind-the-scenes look with them at the models and how they pair with the clothing companies. We also had a panel with WME, which is another big fashion brand.

"And it was super eye-opening, with all the different positions in the industry, because I never really thought about anything past the designing and selling clothes. And there are a lot of people in between that have to kind of link everything together."

CLC, the nation's leading collegiate licensing company, has partnered with IMG for the last 12 years in giving college students a one-of-a-kind experience that includes special access to the TRESemmé Studios, an IMG Models Photo Studio and an exploration of the creation of runway looks.

"Our enduring goal for the U of NYFW college program is to deliver innovate experiences and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to students at our partner institutions," said Cory Moss, CEO of CLC, "which adds tremendous value to the participating universities beyond our traditional role of brand licensing."

Courtney Scrivano, Baylor Assistant AD of Branding, said Baylor was "thrilled to participate in CLC's wonderful U of NYFW event again this year."

"It is especially meaningful to have Baylor represented by a deserving student-athlete like Molly," Scrivano said. "Our licensing efforts should always benefit the university in a variety of ways. And engaging in an initiative that educates and inspires students about careers and opportunities in fashion is one of the most impactful aspects of our program."

Nominated by Ryan Amodei, Associate Director of Academic Services, Molly said the U of NYFW program gave her a "different look at how everything works together."

"It definitely affirmed my thoughts that I want to be in New York," said Molly, who is interning with New York designer Lela Rose this summer. "I'm not totally sure which direction I want to take. I definitely like women's clothing better, but I'd like to design my own stuff or work on a design team, for sure."

Before coming to Baylor three years ago from Raleigh, N.C., Molly was an assistant to a designer that developed the waterproof jackets now used by the Baylor equestrian team.

And while she was initially a business major, "I just didn't love it." Molly is now majoring in apparel design with a minor in business. Molly Roberts NYFW

"I have more of a creative brain, I would say, so I kind of knew I wanted to switch," she said. "And it's funny because my sister is actually in apparel design; she's a professor at Cornell."

As part of the New York Fashion Week, Molly got the chance to design a custom jacket at the Champion Athletic Apparel headquarters. "Mine was green for Baylor, with the New York Fashion Week logo on the front," she said. "That was really cool."

One of the major highlights for Molly was "meeting people my age, because I feel like meeting people in the industry, everyone's older."

"At Baylor, I obviously have plenty of friends," she said, "but seeing people that want to be in New York that are the same age, that have the same major as me, was really cool. Hearing what they were looking to get out of the trip and what they see themselves doing in the future was interesting. There were plenty of people on the trip who wanted to be editors of Vogue or something like that, which was super interesting."

Trying to balance school and equestrian while planning for a future in apparel design has been challenge, but "I honestly couldn't see myself anywhere else," Molly said.

"Baylor just feels like home to me. My character development has been incredible here, with the staff. Everyone has been so awesome. It's been so amazing to develop my faith and kind of find my passion and my future career while also pursuing my athletic endeavors. I don't think that could have happened anywhere else."

FINDING HER PASSION

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