As a student, designer, and instructor I have received a good amount of critique in my life. Some make you cry, others make you laugh, and others make you laugh eventually.
It’s taken time to come to terms with the good and the bad. Now, I try to teach my students how to comprehend critiques and how to give critiques. Over the years I’ve become a rubric fanatic, because nothing is worse than not knowing expectations. In sum, all aspects of critiques take practice!
Here’s a few:
University of Rhode Island (2011)
“Emily is a talented designer. She is fully engaged with the issues in the world around her and highly motivated. She has set very clear goals for her future. She has a very strong work ethic. Emily is also gracious and kind to everyone, making her a good community member. She has been a penultimate representative for the Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design program at URI, guiding departmental tours and answering program questions from potential students. I strongly recommend Emily Pascoe.” Susan Hannel, PhD, Professor & Honors Adviser
Nike Makers (2012)
“The volume and draping used for the Woman’s boxing rope looked amazing and again it was clear to that it was a boxing robe of sorts but one completely re-designed specifically for a woman.” John Burlo, Design Director Men’s Apparel Nike NSW (2012)
Pantman Inc. (2013)
“You’re a home run!…You saved my life and you are beyond a wonderful person. Thanks, Emily. You definitely elevated a room which needed it.” Neil Semel, Owner & CEO
Montclair State University, TEVAL (2016)
“She gives too many pop quizzes, what is wrong with her!” FS Student, Product Development
I never gave a pop quiz in this course.
Kansas State University, TEVAL (2017)
“Emily did an amazing job as our instructor. She was always very well prepared for class and always had a nice balance of work for us to do. She met everyone’s needs and was extremely helpful. The way she connected with us was very personal and approachable. I would definitely recommend having her teach this course again.” AT Student, Apparel Production 1
“Very, very good teacher. I think she had a lot on her plate being a full time student too but she never let it show! Always showed up prepared to teach the subject matter effectively and was very good at constructive criticism.” AT Student, Apparel Production 1
Kansas State University, TEVAL (2018)
“She expects you to do the work.” AT Student, History of Apparel Fashion
“I love that I now understand the backgrounds on so many trends and styles. She was fully prepared for class every single day and it was clear that she put a ton of time into making each lecture. She is personable and easy to relate to and reach outside of class. She easily could’ve dumped our capstone papers on us and left us to figure them out on our own time — but I felt like the writing workshops really helped me to research effectively and properly learn APA format as well as our annotations, which I’d never had to do before. While I felt like the 15 source/annotation requirement was annoying, I think it was overall helpful to make sure that I didn’t slack off and probably made my paper much better than it would’ve been otherwise. I also thought it was helpful that she had other people come in for the writing workshops that may have been more knowledgeable than herself about those matters — she didn’t just try to wing it and teach us that info possibly half-assed. I also really liked that we turned in the paper in steps because it kept me on track — I KNOW that I would’ve put the entire thing off until the two days before it was due, so I think the quality of my writing benefited from this. She is a really fun but respectable instructor and I truly enjoyed her class!” AT Student, History of Apparel Fashion
Kansas State University, Nomination Form (2019)
“Emily was not afraid to speak up on behalf of graduate students if the focus of the discussion on university committees centered on undergraduate students. She was instrumental in expanding the number of graduate students engaged in the Graduate Student Council so the needs and voices of our diverse student population could be represented… Emily continues to advocate for the needs of graduate students even though she is not currently in a leadership role in GSC.” Carol Shanklin, PhD, Dean of the Graduate School
Kansas State University, Undergraduate Student (2021)
Emily: “What do you think I do for the department?”
Student: “They bring you in when they know we’ve lost hope. When we need to love what we’re
doing again.”
Emily Oertling 