MY NFC JOURNEY

WORDS BY NFC GRADUATE AMY SOLYLO

To be totally transparent, it was tough ignoring the initial voices - both those of outside bystanders in my life and the ones in my own head - insisting it was absurd to leave the music degree I thought I had wanted my whole life in favour of studying fashion.

Now, in retrospect, employed full-time at a talent agency with a rich span of experience behind me, there is very little I would regret more than not enrolling when my instincts told me I need to.

NFC was a sanctuary that came into my life when I felt I was at a crossroads, so far from the impersonal, pressured pace of university and instead a welcoming safe haven.

Weeks prior to starting my studies, I visited the college for their campus launch, and had an immediate window to network as well as meet my new classmates. I had more under my belt in the first five minutes at NFC than I did in a year and a half at university.

Along those lines, the opportunities were offered from the get-go, and in masses. I assisted celebrity stylist Jamie Azzopardi early on in my studies an extra project on a whim alongside my internship with Peppermayo, and was lucky enough to have this spur of the moment choice result in employment as a lead assistant.

This saw me whisked away on interstate flights to work fashion weeks, launches, influencer events, developing connections and making a lifelong friend both in the industry and out. The course content at NFC is invaluable to me, especially now in my day to day work, but the individual adventure each student has is nothing that could ever be replicated. 

National Fashion College - and at the heart of it, Bryce, NFC’s Founder & Director - taught me things about myself I don't know I ever would have come to learn on my own in my lifetime.  Often thrown in the deep end, I discovered I was capable of much more than I allowed myself to be, in fear of taking up too much space.

Largely due to the support and open forum conversations I felt comfortable to have with Bryce, I was confident enough to apply for a role as a Social Media and Talent Coordinator at Born Bred Talent. My application was successful, and I can finally say I'm somewhere where I no longer doubt myself - both in terms of my professional career and of mindset - in an industry I never anticipated. While the position is mine of my own merit, it is nothing I could have done without my time at NFC, and for that, I will be forever grateful.