San Diego Mesa College Professor Jordyn Smiley, MFA, has earned the distinction of becoming a CLO Accredited Instructor, bringing advanced industry expertise in 3D fashion design and virtual garment development directly into the classroom.
Psychology major Emerald Moreno is inspired by a passion for understanding and interpreting others, along with a deep faith that psychology is her calling. She plans to transfer to a university to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology, minor in Spanish, and continue exploring a future in law.
After a major surgery and months of recovery, Tracey Kushner faced a decision that would reshape her future. In 2024, she returned to San Diego Mesa College determined to finish the degree she had started years earlier.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — San Diego Mesa College proudly celebrated the achievements of the Class of 2026 during its annual Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 29, 2026, honoring 1,958 graduates who earned more than 2,017 academic degrees and 414 certificates. A total of 727 graduates participated in the ceremony, joined by family, friends, faculty, staff, and community supporters.
May 14, 2020
The Mesa College Fashion Department’s students, alumni, and faculty have teamed up to address the issue of mask shortages in the healthcare industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are mobilizing sewists and manning their machines, with some putting their own businesses and operations on pause to support the needs of hospital workers and their patients. Together, they have managed to sew and distribute hundreds of masks throughout the community.
Meet Carmen Flores of Ebb & Flow Beachwear. Carmen had the inspiration to begin her beachwear line while she was still taking classes in Fashion Design at Mesa. Today, she runs a successful online business selling her own reversable, customizable swimsuits.
In early April, Carmen teamed up with engineers AP Nist and Kevin Gemmell to embark on the “5,000 Mask Challenge,” a homegrown initiative to create and donate 5,000 masks to healthcare workers on the frontline of the pandemic. On April 3, the team got together to sew their first mask prototypes and set production into motion.
When Mesa College Fashion Professors, Meegan Feori and Jordyn Smiley heard of their former student’s involvement with the 5,000 Mask Challenge, they shared the initiative with current students in Mesa’s Fashion Department. Student volunteers jumped at the opportunity to lend their sewing skills to the cause, and with their help, the 5,000 Mask Challenge team was able to deliver their first large donation of 400 masks on May 12, helping the VA San Diego and the Health Center Partners of Southern California.
Support for the initiative has come from far and wide in our community and those with talent and experience in fashion such as retired Clothing and Design teacher Pamela Sherwood, take pride in their ability to use their sewing skills to help others. As Mesa College Fashion Department members continue to complete mask kits, the 5,000 Mask Challenge team projects the likelihood of reaching 1,500 total donations by the end of next week.
Another Mesa College alum, Emily Pritts is doing her part by partnering with Project Masks, a Southern California-based organization donating cloth masks to hospital workers.
Emily brings her years of fashion expertise to the mask-making initiative, after attending
classes in the Fashion Design program at Mesa, and growing her own fabric business,
“Boho Fabrics,” which aims to connect home sewers to the beautiful textiles and trends
of the fashion industry. Marrying her company’s vision with the efforts led by Project Masks, Emily is providing a free mask kit with each one she sells, as well as the opportunity
for less-skilled donors to sponsor a local sewist inthe community so they too can
contribute to the effort.
While healthcare workers are among those who are 
most in need of personal protective equipment, we can all do our part to limit the
spread of the COVID-19 virus by wearing face masks. Mesa College Fashion faculty member
Kit Kuriakose has helped meet this community need by creating a selection of affordable
face masks that she sells in her San Diego-based store, Fiveloaves Twofish. While her apparel typically caters to children and young teens, Kit is making masks
for all ages that are not only effective in promoting safety, but fashionable as well.
The talent and entrepreneurial spirit embodied by the members of Mesa’s Fashion Department has always been central to their success. As they collaborate to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we see they are not only accomplished designers, educators, and business professionals, but humanitarians, working to give back to the community. For the current and former students of Mesa’s Fashion Design and Merchandising programs, this experience making masks for healthcare workers has not only tested their sewing skills but provided a window into the real-world application and impact of their education and talents. Many thanks to the Mesa College Fashion Department for working hard to make our community a safer place.
Learn more about Mesa's Fashion Design Program.
Tags: COVID-19, Fashion Design Program, Fashion, Fashion Merchandising
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
[email protected]
(619) 388-2759
San Diego Mesa College Professor Jordyn Smiley, MFA, has earned the distinction of becoming a CLO Accredited Instructor, bringing advanced industry expertise in 3D fashion design and virtual garment development directly into the classroom.
Best Universities’ latest publication includes new rankings of the top fashion design schools in California, which includes San Diego Mesa College in the top five. Designed for students looking to complete or further their education, the rankings evaluate fashion design programs in California. In order to create the list of the best fashion design schools in California, Best Universities has collected college data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics survey.
In a campus-wide equity effort to help students succeed in their Spring 2021 classes, Mesa College is providing supplies and kits for over 20 academic courses and programs. Students taking science courses such as microbiology and botany will have access to microscopes and seed kits, fashion students can get sewing machines, fabric and dress forms. Music students can access electronic music studio kits and electronic keyboards, dental students can receive various dental instruments, and astronomy students will receive supplies to build their own Galilean telescopes. Spring 2021 classes start on Monday, February 1, and supplies distribution will take place during the first several weeks of classes.
