At 44-years-old, Jenny Fox finally experienced a moment of triumph that was "life affirming."
She often heard her family's endless, disapproving chatter about her dreams to explore the fashion industry growing up. The draw of fashion dolls and shopping catalogs had Fox hooked since she was a tiny tot.
"You lose the dream, but then in your 40s, hey, it comes back," Fox said.
Alas, her dreams did take a stint, working in office planning through her adulthood, before finding her way back to her passion for fashion.
Fox is one of six students nationally recognized as Graduate of the Year by the Penn Foster Group. She was selected for her academic excellence, character and perseverance at the New York Institute of Art and Design.
"It was very humbling," Fox said of receiving the recognition. "I felt just validated."
Sitting in her bedroom, listening to the Zoom call, thinking, "it couldn't be me," the thought passed just before her named was announced as an awardee.
"All I could do is tears in the eyes and hands up to my face. I can't believe all that work and effort paid off," Fox said.
Though she currently lives in Southwest Washington, her involvement in the world of fashion is spent in Portland — a place she also attended college.
Barbie and her many styles and career paths sparked inspiration for Fox at a young age, spending hours with her sister playing dress up with dolls.
"When you're five, your dreams change and evolve and life happens to you," she said.
Thirty-five years after that dream changed, Fox dolled herself up for her 40th birthday — it was her year to do it big. It was also the year the pandemic decided to do it big and shutdown the world.
Piles of makeup and wigs no longer had a purpose, other than to sit pretty, but Fox found herself engaging in fashion tutorials while stuck at home which gave the items a new purpose.
Between videos an advertisement for New York Institute of Art and Design popped up.
"Why not?" she said looking at the screen. "What's the worst that could happen?"
The curriculum was right up her alley, and as she took the classes she said she could feel her "inner passion coming alive again."
Though the education was enthralling, Fox faced hardship due to her grandma dying while she was in school. As a child she would browse fashion magazines with her grandmother, sorting through what clothes they could go shop for later.
"I still battle with it every day because she was my savior and a big inspiration to me in my life," Fox said.
She did what felt right and made it a point to finish her schooling for the both of them because her grandmother didn't have the same opportunities.
"To be able to live my childhood dream in my 40s, it's the best reward, the best gift, I can give myself," Fox said.
When the light switch flipped, urging Fox to dive back into the fashion industry, it was "transformative." She saw herself in a new light, and a new body to be proud of.
Fox still works a 9-5 in Portland — the job she found in her field after graduating the Art Institute of Portland for interior design — to pay her bills and support her passion.
Since entering the world of fashion, Fox has worked with Gutter Girl for its Rose Couture event; Mark Mo Regalia at NORF URBANO; and styling influencers like B3NTL3Y, the founder of The House of B3 and others like Alok Vaid-Menon.
Up next, besides a confidential project and a horror fashion show in Portland, she's getting ready to head to the East Coast for New York Fashion Week.
"My inner child is dancing up and down right now," she said.
Fox said her younger self, seeing what she's accomplished, would be "in the corner, just pooping and peeing her pants," with excitement.
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