Class of 2019: Brittney Gray

Posted on May 02, 2019

Photo of Brittney Gray in cap and gown
Brittney Gray, a consumer, apparel, and retail studies major, will graduate May 10 and then move to New York City for a brand-new job in 3D fashion design.

The world of color looks different for Brittney Gray. The consumer, apparel, and retail studies (CARS) major has a color vision deficiency that makes it difficult for her to distinguish certain colors.  

Gray is also partially blind. And after walking across the Commencement stage next week, she will head to New York City for a brand-new job in 3D fashion design. The support she received at UNC Greensboro, she said, gave her the push she needed.  

“They showed me my love for colors, and textures, and patterns, and allowed my ‘obstacle’ to be my stepping stone.”

Gray first stepped onto the campus as a high school student at the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Summer Music CampShe was first chair flute.

She was accepted into several design schools, but Gray chose UNCG because it felt like home.

“I knew that I could grow here.”

And she has – the CARS department, housed in the Bryan School of Business and Economics, helped Gray find her calling. As a freshman, her idea of design was limited to paper and fabric. Through her classes and internships, she discovered it was so much more.

“UNCG has impacted my career in a lot of different ways, but it completely changed the way that I see design,” Gray said. “It has allowed me to explore other opportunities like 3D design and 3D prototyping, and realize that’s a career option for me.”

The CARS program has been teaching computer-aided design (CAD) since the late 1990s, and UNCG is the first university in the Piedmont to offer students training for VStitcher, the 3D virtual prototyping software for developers, pattern makers, and technical designers, by Browzwear.

Gray, who admits sewing isn’t exactly her passion, quickly mastered the fashion design software and began helping her professors train her fellow students.

Last summer, Gray’s talents landed her an internship at Walmart Corporate, working with its 3D program. She designed a children’s dress that went into production and is currently being sold in Walmart stores.    

Since the internship, Gray has been contacted with several job offers – including Walmart, which she turned down.

There’s no doubt Gray’s future is bright. She will be graduating with a bachelor of science in CARS with a concentration in apparel product design, starting her dream job, and working toward a master of science in CARS with a concentration in global apparel management. 

Her advice for incoming Spartans?

“Do not let anyone, even yourself, tell you what you cannot do.”

Learn more about Gray’s UNCG experience in the video below.

 

 

Story by Elizabeth L. Harrison, University Communications
Photography by Jiyoung Park, University Communications
Videography by Grant Evan Gilliard, University Communications

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