Future Alden Fashion Designer
McKenzie Fronczak is a senior from Alden High School enrolled in the Fashion Design Technology program at Erie 1 BOCES Harkness Career and Technical Education Center.
“I enrolled in BOCES because I loved to hand sew as a kid and later attempted sewing on a machine. In the class, my perspectives changed about my future career, but they stayed within the industry,” said McKenzie. “I also chose Harkness because I wanted to expand my horizons on education and be able to meet new people.”
In the fall of 2024, following graduation, she hopes to get accepted into her top college and from there study fashion business management or fashion marketing as her major.
“I also hope to pursue further education with one or multiple foreign languages and study abroad or just be able to travel after college,” said McKenzie.
Under the instruction of Darlene Borchert, McKenzie has learned about fashion show production, sewing, graphic design, illustrating, the business of fashion design and more.
“This program has given me the opportunity to see what I do and don’t like in the industry, to have better social skills than I did before I joined the program and I feel it is a great creative outlet,” said McKenzie.
As part of public education, Erie 1 BOCES offers a variety of career and technical programs during the regular school day to high school students in Erie County. High school students interested in learning more about how they can participate in various programs, such as fashion design technology, cosmetology, sports science, web and gaming technologies, nursing or aviation technology, should visit www.e1b.org/cte or speak with their high school counselor.