This week, The Argus sat down with Siggy Soriano ’25. As a leader of the Student of Color (SOC) Fashion Show, Soriano uses her sociology background to explore art, vulnerability, and expression. Sorinao told us about her work with local school kids, senior citizens, and skibidi toilet.
The Argus: Why do you think you were nominated to be WesCeleb?
Siggy Soriano: I do a lot of fashion-related stuff on campus, and I just had a fashion show this weekend.
A: I wanted to ask about that Student of Color Fashion Show!
SS: I’m lowkey the president of the club. The whole thing is run by students of color, which is really awesome. Every year, I do a [fashion] line dedicated to people in my family. This one was inspired by my grandma. She passed away in February, and I was looking through pictures of her living room and all her photo albums. I was really inspired by all the shapes and textures in it. It’s a room, but there’s so much life in it. And then, through fashion, I weaved those ideas together.
A: Tell me about how you take something very static, such as a room, or furniture, or decoration, and turn that into a fashion piece someone wears.
SS: I guess it’s more textural. I’ve always thought that sewing is very intimate as well. The act of sewing is what inspired me to create something fashionable through fashion.
A: I know you teach a sewing class at a local elementary school.
SS: Through Cardinal Kids, I teach a class where I teach kids how to sew. [They are] second and fifth graders. A lot of them know how to sew, which is awesome—they’re 10 years old! Some of them get really into it. We all have similar humor, especially the fifth graders. Skibidi toilet. I get to be a kid again.
A: What does it mean for you to get to feel like a kid again?
SS: I guess it’s just like exploring my humility and not being embarrassed about what I’m saying or doing. When I’m here, I’m very much perceived. When I’m working with kids, I don’t really feel like I have to act a certain way.
A: Maybe the judgment from adults is quieter, so maybe there’s some freedom with kids where you know exactly what they’re thinking all the time.
SS: They are so brave in the sense that they will say whatever they want. In some ways, I think it feels more comfortable with kids because they’re outspoken, whereas adults will hide it.
A: On that note, I like to ask seniors to think back to their first year and how they’ve changed since then.
SS: Freshman year, I did not know who I was. I didn’t really explore fashion. But as I grew, I’ve found a lot of confidence in expressing myself through art, because it is a very vulnerable thing.
A: What other art are you involved with?
SS: I do the WESU radio. My show’s called “E-Cig,” like getting addicted to music. I also work at the costume shop.
A: Big, scary question: what’s next for you?
SS: I’m going to be working at this retirement home that I worked at last summer as well. I basically host bingo and drive them to doctor’s appointments. I get to hang out with senior citizens all day.
A: So you spend a lot of time with very young people and very old people.
SS: It’s a very interesting dynamic because they’re both kind of childlike in a way. Obviously, kids are children, but for senior citizens, you have to care in the same way as dealing with kids. A lot of them are very nice. One part of my job is bartending for an hour and a half at 3 p.m., so I’ll give them drinks, and then we’ll chat at the bar. Some of them will hit on me. But I also just love learning about their life stories. I’m always thinking about my past, how it manifests itself in the future, and how I can change it in the future. I’ll think of things I used to do, like if I used to be a really bad friend or make mistakes. I think about how I can change.
A: Are there things you wish you pursued at Wesleyan? What advice would you give to incoming first-years?
SS: I wish I was less shy. Because I’m a very shy, awkward person. It’s been a slow progression. Since I’ve been in this hub of people for four years now, I’ve definitely grown into who I see on a daily basis.
A: Anything else you want readers to know? Things you’d wished I’d asked?
SS: I’m going to graduate school in the fall at the Maryland School of Social Work. Did you want me to elaborate?
A: If you want to! It’s your story.
SS: I don’t even know what my story is.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Thomas Lyons can be reached at tlyons@wesleyan.edu.
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