Jaimie Stites
Jaimie Stites hopes to someday work for a branding agency or start one of her own. When she is not studying, Jaimie enjoys painting and listening to audiobooks.
Get to know Jaimie
- Major: Apparel, merchandising, and design and marketing
- Class: Sophomore
- Hometown: Council Bluffs, Iowa (Pottawattamie County)
- Career goal: Work for or own a branding agency
- Clubs/activities: Hixon Student Board, TelSTAR
- Favorite place on campus: The Student Innovation Center
- Most influential ISU mentor: Brenda Thorbs-Weber
- Favorite class: AMD 204, Textile Science
- Why ISU: It seemed like Iowa State chose her as everything fell into place
Jaimie Stites actively works with prospective students as she pursues her degrees
Jaimie Stites has a mind for business and a knack for creativity. During her freshman year, Jamie started out as a marketing major. She enjoyed the business courses, but quickly realized that marketing alone was not creative enough for her. Now a sophomore, she’s double majoring in marketing and apparel, merchandising, and design.
“I started my marketing courses and was like, ‘This is creative, but not as creative as I wanted it to be,’” Jaimie said. “I was thinking, ‘What would I enjoy doing?’ and then I chose apparel, merchandising, and design.”
Jaimie’s creativity has always shown through no matter what she does. She spent much of her time in high school in the art studio, painting and selling her work. However, painting isn’t the only way she showcases her creative skills.
“I’ve always just been a creative person, and one way I express myself is through what I wear,” Jaimie said. “What you choose to put on your body is really an outward expression of who you are. I love that it’s kind of like a window into who you are, so that’s why I chose [apparel, merchandising and design].”
As a first-generation college student, Jaimie has a passion for making prospective students feel comfortable and informed before coming to college. She has worked as a Cyclone Aide, serves on the Hixon Student Board, and works in the Office of Admissions as a TelSTAR, dedicating her days easing the minds of high school students who are approaching graduation.
“I take these admissions jobs because I know that I didn’t know a lot about what college was all about when I was coming,” she said. “I thought it would be so helpful if I were to call a student who’s unsure, and I can say, ‘Yeah same, I was so unsure, but this is what we can do to make you feel more comfortable.’”
Jaimie is pursuing her degree in hopes of working for a branding agency, or even founding one of her own. She enjoys her studies in both marketing and apparel, as they seamlessly work together to prepare her for her career.
“Creative majors can get a bad reputation sometimes as some people believe a ‘technical’ degree is more valuable. Something I would like to remind students about pursuing more conceptual or soft-skill degrees is that those skills are extremely necessary and equally as valuable,” Jaimie said.
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