Rutgers Future Scholars T-shirts for Sale

The Challenge: Ninth-grade students were charged with designing a unisex T-shirt for Rutgers students ages 18 to 25. The goal of the design was to promote the university and its Rutgers Future Scholars program.

The Students: The Rutgers Future Scholars program is an initiative where Rutgers annually selects 200 academically promising seventh-graders from the university’s host communities –Newark, New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden – to provide academic support and mentoring through high school. Upon acceptance into Rutgers, the students will receive free tuition for four years.

The Curriculum: The competition was based on a five-step product design curriculum developed by Sweat Equity Enterprises, a project-based youth development learning program founded by fashion mogul and alumnus Marc Ecko. The assignment pays homage to Ecko’s humble beginnings as he launched his now global fashion empire designing T-shirts on campus. Ecko also launched a Rutgers-inspired clothing line. His designs can be purchased online and at Rutgers bookstores.

The curriculum included:

1. Identifying the design challenge
2. Research (information gathering and inspiration)
3. Concept development (brainstorming and concept refinement)
4. Final concept development (collecting feedback from a focus group)
5. Final presentation to the client, in this case Rutgers University.

Lessons Learned: The students gained hands-on experience about designing and marketing a product. The entire process, under the direction of Rick Lee in the Department of English, took place at the Writers House "collaboratory" where students had access to state-of-the-art technology. Research, public speaking, utilizing design software and other transferable skills were critical to completing the curriculum.

The T-Shirts: There were two designs selected. The design, “Dream, Believe, Succeed,” by Cassidy Christopher was selected for the adult T-shirts in women’s sizes S-M-L-XL and men’s sizes S-M-L-XL-XXL. The design, “Grab the Future,” by Christian Alzate was selected for the children’s T-shirts in toddlers sizes 4T- 6T and youth sizes S-M-L. The adult T-shirts are priced at $18, youth at $16, and toddlers at $14. Proceeds will go to the Rutgers Future Scholars program. See the designs attached.

The Winners: The winners of the competition are Christian Alzate for the children’s design and Cassidy Christopher for the adult design. Both students attend Piscataway High School.