Harper College will be closed Monday, September 1, in observance of Labor Day.
Katsiaryna Piatsevich keeps a sticker with her Harper College ID. It reads “Welding is Sewing With Fire.”
It’s a comparison that Katsiaryna, who goes by Kat, understands well. That’s because the 35-year-old student is studying both welding and fashion at Harper.
This isn’t a common pathway – neither the Fashion Studies nor Welding Technology faculty could remember a student who was simultaneously working toward credentials in both disciplines. Kat is on the precipice of earning an Associate in Applied Science degree in Welding Technology and recently completed a certificate in Apparel Construction. Yet, the similarities between sewing and welding appear obvious when Kat describes her work.
“Either way, you’re starting with a sort of blank canvas,” she said. “You may be working with fabrics or adding metal and a little bit of fire – you put it together and you can make something beautiful.”
Quiet and confident, Kat said she has always been drawn to fields that offer a mix of craft, logic and creativity. Growing up in Belarus, she sidelined those desires while on track to become a basketball player. When she was 15, Kat and her family immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Buffalo Grove. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in accounting courses at Harper. She liked the college, but not accounting. Kat left to enter the workforce.
For the better part of a decade, she took a series of jobs: photographer, graphic designer, dispatcher for her brother’s logistics company. When he shuttered the business to pursue his dream of becoming a software developer, Kat saw an opportunity to finally listen to her own creative aspirations. She returned to Harper and enrolled in the Interior Design program, graduating with an A.A.S. degree in 2023.
But designing wasn’t enough. Kat wanted to learn the fundamentals behind making items including furniture.
“I’m curious about how things are done,” she said. “I would like to be part of the process from the beginning to the end. If I draw something, then how do I construct it?’”
That led her to enroll in Harper’s welding courses. She found that she enjoyed perfecting the craft and practicing tasks over and over to achieve the best result. Soon, the welding lab brought her on as a student aide.
“I was impressed by Kat’s work ethic, but also how quick she is to learn new tools,” said Will Moctezuma, lab assistant and instructor, while pointing out projects Kat has undertaken. “Kat has done wonders in our lab. She did that frame there; she redid that shelf over there. That involved her cutting, grinding, fitting and welding. Then she prepped and painted.”
As if building her skills as a welder wasn’t enough of a challenge, Kat also decided to take a sewing class at Harper. She explained that her parents and grandparents both knew how to sew and that she didn’t want that tradition to end with her.
“The goal was to learn the basics and move on,” she remembered. “I wasn’t into fashion at all – no magazines, no fashion shows. And everyone’s talking about these famous designers in class. I didn’t know who they were.”
But instead of perceiving that as a barrier – and because of the welcoming camaraderie of the Fashion Studies students and faculty – Kat said that the fashion world began to intrigue her.
“It made me more interested. I have to do more research,” she said, acknowledging
how much she also enjoyed the craft of constructing clothes. “It surprised me that
it came naturally to me.”
So naturally, in fact, that Kat went from learning how to sew to creating outfits that walked the runway at the 2025 Student Fashion Show last spring. And now, some of those same pieces were selected to be featured in a Rome fashion show. Works by Kat (and her fellow Harper student Natalia Rojas Soto) were part of the seventh edition of Accademia Del Lusso’s Fashion & Talents show, September 17 in Piazza di Spagna, Rome. Kat traveled to Rome with Harper’s Nupur Sharma, fashion professor, and Dr. Joanne Ivory, dean of Career and Technical Programs.
“It was a meaningful moment for me – knowing that my work was recognized and I can share my vision with others,” she said. “Going to Rome was such an amazing experience. It made me more curious and open to explore new perspectives in fashion.”
One stunning piece that was showcased in Rome seems to draw inspiration from pyramids and rushing waves. It illustrates Kat’s dedication to slow-and-steady craftsmanship. She laser cut an untold number (Kat lost count) of 2-inch blue fabric circles before embarking on the painstaking process of hand-sewing each one into winding patterns on the dress.
“It wasn’t difficult,” she said, nonchalantly, “just time-consuming.”
Because of her interests and dedication, Harper’s Fashion Department also hired Kat as a student aide last year. As it turned out, her welding skills came in handy.
“We broke several of our glass mannequin bases and Kat constructed new ones out of metal, with help from the wonderful Will Moctezuma,” said Lucinda McDonald, Fashion Studies lab assistant. “The base had to be the correct size and weight to keep the mannequin upright when dressed in heavy clothing. She did a great job.”
Although Kat completed her fashion certificate in May, she will still be pulling double-duty at Harper during the next academic year. As she seeks to complete her welding degree this fall, Kat enrolled in the Fashion Design Studio course, which requires students to create a collection of coordinated garments. After Harper, her goal is to do something artistic with her skills and talents, perhaps a job that would enable her to live and work in Europe. In the meantime, she’s got some experimenting to do.
“The plan for next year is to make a collection where I can combine metal and fabric – welding and fashion. I’m not sure how I got to this point – I took a sewing class and now I’m creating a collection,” she said, laughing. “It seems to me, very complicated. Hopefully I can figure it out.”