Ruth Mac Gowan

I received my Morrison Visa in 1995. The year before, I had graduated with a degree in Fashion Marketing in the UK. I was lucky, my older brother was finishing his medical studies at New York Hospital, so I had somewhere to stay when I first arrived. I lived for the first few months in the hospital’s halls of residence, before moving into a rent-controlled apartment in Hell’s Kitchen with two other women who also had Morrison Visas.

Life back in Dublin had been good, and my years of study were a great experience. But when I started looking for fashion jobs in London, all the opportunities seemed to expect me to work for free as an intern. After four years of studying and work placements, that just felt wrong. I knew I needed something different.

“Within three weeks of moving to New York City, I had three paid job offers. Through some new friends I met socially, people who worked at Ralph Lauren, my dream company”

I handed over my CV. A month later, I started in a design role at Ralph Lauren.

My NYC days feel almost like a dream now. Did all that really happen? Ann Reinking dancing in Chicago, private views at the top of the Chrysler Building apartments, Lauren Bacall on Broadway, jogging around the Central Park reservoir, Madonna at Madison Square Garden, nights at Sway nightclub, beers at Rudy’s dive bar. It was a technicolor life.

Of course, I missed family. I made sure to travel home twice a year with Aer Lingus to stay connected.

“What I’m most proud of is that I achieved the dreams I had when I set out. I know that when I’m an old lady, I’ll have all those vivid memories to look back on, a lifetime’s worth of adventures in the city that never sleeps”

The Morrison Visa was a wonderful opportunity, and I’m so grateful I could avail of it. These days, though, I find myself a little more Euro-centric in my thinking, I’d love to live in the Mediterranean someday.