Beyond Fashion: Accelerated M.S. Program Prepares Alum for Next Generation of Textiles

Sitting in the inaugural meeting of the Future Textiles Council in 2025—taking on the challenges of Rhode Island’s textile industry—is probably not where Rose Wood ’21, M.S.’22 pictured herself when she first came to URI. Growing up, she adored fashion and wanted a career in the field. When the time came to look at colleges, URI ticked all the boxes: from extra-curriculars to a unique-to-URI early enrollment program that would allow her to start her textiles, fashion merchandising and design (TMD) studies a year early.

Double-majoring in TMD and French, Wood loved her classes and professors and was on her way to the fashion career she had dreamed of. Then another unique opportunity came along: the TMD department introduced an accelerated M.S. program. “While I was incredibly nervous about the idea of paying for another degree,” said Wood, “Dr. Strübel helped me apply for scholarships, which ultimately allowed me to be one of the first two TMD students to graduate from the new program.”

Wood’s classes covered the history and cultural aspects of textiles, as well as the sustainability issues facing the industry. But it was the technical skills gained through textile science classes and an internship at a local manufacturing company that proved most useful after graduation. That internship—at Neocorp, a Pawtucket-based manufacturer of rope and cord—transitioned to her first full-time job in textile operations and production.

It’s not fashion, and Wood is okay with that. “As I learned about the variety of career paths in the industry, I realized I had many more options than I expected, and I learned it’s okay to deviate from the plan,” she says. “Textiles can be useful, beautiful, or both—depending on the application. There’s a certain satisfaction in seeing products out in the real world that you helped make. I’m also passionate about keeping Rhode Island’s textile industry alive.”

Through her job, Wood became involved with the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network (RITIN), which has led her back to URI. “I ran into a beloved professor, Karl Aspelund, who was there to speak about the URI Future Textiles Council. He described a circular economy in which Rhode Island would recycle plastic ocean waste into raw material for new textiles.” Wood is excited to join the new council and have a hand in this textile sustainability initiative.

Making a positive impact on the future is very important to Wood—so she jumped at an opportunity to be the first chair of RITIN’s new Young Professionals Committee. She is excited to reach out to others her age in the industry. “Getting to know people both in and out of the workplace can truly take you farther than expected,” she says.

Her advice to other young professionals? “Get involved, mentor others, and remember how much impact something as simple as showing up can have. And speak up! You have a voice. Don’t let yourself be discounted by others’ misconception that Gen Z is lazy and doesn’t want to work. Prove them wrong.” Wood is proving that hard work pays off—for more than just herself.