They say educators wear many hats. For teacher Faith Brooks Evans, one of them happens to be a Paris-trained couture seamstress.
Evans, a 50-year teaching veteran, has spent the last nine years with PGCPS, first at Laurel High School and now as an environmental science co-teacher at High Point High School. While generations of students have known her as a dedicated educator, sewing has been a lifelong passion woven throughout her five decades in the classroom.
For the past two years, this educator with a heart of gold has been giving back to her school community by designing custom prom suits, embellishing and altering tuxedo jackets, and stitching one-of-a-kind pieces from scratch — all at absolutely no cost to her students.
“All I wanted was to make my students' prom dreams come true and for them and their families to feel the magic and excitement of prom season without having to shoulder some of the astronomical expenses that it can bring,” Evans said. “ I understand the difficult financial climate we have all witnessed, and I wanted to do what I could to help make sure that didn’t stand in the way of my students looking and feeling their best. Showing kindness and serving and helping our children is my ministry—it’s all about our children!”
Evans’ love for fashion began during childhood as she watched her mother stitch ensembles for Easter and graduations, and inherited a natural affinity for fabric that followed her into adulthood.
Later, while studying at Morgan State University in the 1970s, she was staging full-scale fashion shows to showcase her designs — eventually traveling to study couture at the prestigious Paris Fashion Institute.
"In Paris, I learned how to create an entire line of clothing from just 20 yards of the same fabric you could mix, match, and transform,” she recalls.
For Evans, sewing isn't just an artistic outlet; it's a tool for economic empowerment.
“My experience taught me how invaluable the gift and trade of sewing really is. Every opportunity I receive to share the gift of sewing with our students, I take it,” she said. “I want our students to learn these skills and monetize them to create future or supplemental incomes for themselves.”
Evans put that philosophy into practice recently, teaching students in the Class of 2026 how to sew handmadeKente graduation stoles during their lunch breaks, which were later presented to members of the African Student Union.
Whether in the classroom or behind a sewing machine, Evans continues to make a lasting impact on the lives of students.
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