From Roseland to Paris: Chicago woman accepted into prestigious Parsons graduate program
From Roseland to Paris: Chicago woman accepted into prestigious Parsons graduate program
A young woman from Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood is preparing to take her dreams more than 4,000 miles from home after earning a spot in a prestigious graduate program in Paris.
CHICAGO - A young woman from Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood is preparing to take her dreams more than 4,000 miles from home after earning a spot in a prestigious graduate program in Paris.
Chicago woman heads to Paris for prestigious fashion program
The backstory:
At 24 years old, Nylijah Abdul-Khaaliq is one of just 12 students accepted this year into the graduate Fashion Studies program at Parsons Paris, where she plans to concentrate on fashion journalism.
Her journey started on East 102nd Place in Roseland.
"Growing up, I remember it being filled with people," Abdul-Khaaliq said while walking along the block where she once lived.
Today, the house she called home is gone and parts of the block have fallen into disrepair.
"It’s kind of devastating," she said. "It hurts to see the block like this."
Still, Abdul-Khaaliq says the neighborhood helped shape her ambition.
Her family says the block has been home to several people who went on to find success in sports and entertainment.
"We have a WNBA player, a film star and an NBA player that came off of this block," Nylijah's mother Kenya Thompson said.
Now, Abdul-Khaaliq is preparing to add another chapter to that legacy.
Dig deeper:
She has never been to Paris.
Asked how far she has traveled before, she laughed and said, "The farthest I’ve been is the Bahamas."
The move will take her far from Chicago and far outside her comfort zone, but she says fashion journalism is exactly where she wants to be.
"I especially love subcultures," Abdul-Khaaliq said. "I love high fashion, but subcultures — people on the streets and how they are consuming fashion."
Her interest in journalism began years before Parsons.
Abdul-Khaaliq attended Chicago Public Schools and became a published journalist at just 15 through Young Chicago Authors and After School Matters.
She later attended Dillard University in New Orleans, where she earned her degree in film.
The road to Parsons was not without a few twists.
Abdul-Khaaliq said she missed the first round of interviews and eventually completed an interview from the side of the road, holding her phone while speaking with the school on Zoom.
"I had my interview in the car on the side of the road," she said. "I’m on Zoom with the phone in my hand."
She was accepted and also received a partial scholarship.
Her mother admits she is apprehensive about having her daughter live overseas for two years, but the nerves are mixed with pride.
For Abdul-Khaaliq, the move represents something bigger than a degree.
It is proof, she says, that where a person starts does not have to determine where they finish.
"I’ve always known I was capable of something more," Abdul-Khaaliq said. "And if you are aware of that and not scared of it, you never know where you will end up."
What's next:
For the girl from Roseland, the next stop is Paris.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago's Tia Ewing.