The Fashion Institute of Technology sends forth 2,600 graduates today at its commencement exercises. They are destined to be fashion designers, illustrators, toy designers, and artists. Seventy percent have already secured jobs.

“The students here are probably the most special thing about the place,” the president of FIT, Joyce Brown, said in an interview last week. “They’re sweet. There’s no arrogance about them. They are very motivated students who want to make beautiful things. That is their mark on the world.”

Three graduating seniors illustrate her point. Lee Ann Mittler, 22, came to FIT from a small town outside Albany called Broadalbin, encouraged by a professor at a vocational school. “I came in at a low level. I didn’t even know how to sew,” she said. She certainly does now. She spent two weeks sewing her senior project, a silk wool trench coat with rhinestone belt buckles. The project was an investment in her future: She spent about $1,000 out-of-pocket on the 17 yards of fabric (purchased at Mood on 37th Street); the school reimbursed her $150. “It was expensive, but after I saw it, I had to have it,” she said.

Ms. Mittler worked on the coat half at home, on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, and half at school, toting it around in a garment bag. The work paid off. Last week, she took home the grand prize in the student fashion show, which comes with a $1,500 cash award. “I was thinking of selling the coat, but now I want to keep it,” she said.

Seeing her work on the runway was a major rush. “There’s nothing like it. My heart was pounding,” she said. As for putting her skills to work in the marketplace, Ms. Mittler is currently an intern at Marc Jacobs in the accessories department. She also did an internship at Kenneth Cole, which turned into a part-time job before she went to Italy on a yearlong school program – her first time traveling out of the country.

“I definitely don’t feel nervous graduating without a job. Our school is known for placement,” she said. Ms. Mittler plans to “really hit the pavement” after graduation, when she has the time to look. While her project was in womenswear, she said she’s flexible about what design area she’ll pursue. She has one project lined up: “I’ve already promised my sister a prom dress for next year.”

Ilan Schwarz, 26, is graduating in the accessories department. He came to FIT from Ramat Hasharon, outside Tel Aviv, right before September 11, 2001, and now lives in Spanish Harlem. Originally he was a fine arts major, but caught the fashion bug and switched to accessories. His senior project included a paper arguing, “there is no fashion without accessories.” The accompanying designs created an outfit out of accessories. Learning a trade was a very appealing part of the FIT experience – “how to make your designs,” as he described it – but he is glad his training went beyond his specialty.” You’re here to learn the fashion industry, but FIT does offer a general education as well – art history, how to write a memo. It’s important to be well rounded.”

Asked about where the school could improve, Mr. Schwarz noted the lack of space. “I have often found myself working in hallways and floors,” he said. “And the rooms always need upgrading. FIT needs to keep up to date with industry.”

Marisa DeMarco, 21, is in the first graduating class of the bachelor’s program in fine arts. Her next step is a master’s degree in arts education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, and now lives on the Upper West Side. She had minimal art training before enrolling. “When I entered I was one of the weakest in the class. I’ve had a strong artistic development in college,” Ms. DeMarco said. She’d like to see more exhibition space available for student work, especially after seeing the year-end display at the museum, which includes three of her portraits – each one shows half the face of a family member.

Space is the most pressing issue at FIT, which had 10,378 students enrolled this year.

“We have severe space constraints,” Ms. Brown said. “We have tried to hold enrollment flat for the past couple of years because we just don’t have space.”

The school recently completed two new buildings, part of the first phase of a master plan created in 1995. The projects – the student cafeteria and the Great Hall, which houses meeting space and the Continuing Education and Professional Studies Center – cost $52 million, of which $15 million was raised privately by the school; the rest came from the city and the state.

In addition, the school has purchased a building at 31st Street and 10th Avenue, which will become a dormitory, doubling housing capacity for students.

The plan also calls for expansions and a new academic building with expanded library and museum facilities. What exactly happens next has become part of a long-term strategic planning process started this year.

Some of the issues under discussion include finding funding for ever-increasing technology needs, smoothing the transition from the two-year to four-year programs, and evaluating academic programs to ensure they are on the cutting edge. Ms. Brown would also like to see the faculty expand.

“We don’t have sufficient numbers of fulltime faculty,” she said. Adjuncts who are working full time in the industry are valuable for their connections and experience in the real world. “On the other hand, it is difficult for students to develop relationships and rapport with faculty, because that takes faculty that put in full time and work on committees and do advisement,” Ms. Brown said.

One of the school’s strengths is its strong relationship with industry. Each program has an advisory council of industry leaders. Ms. Brown would like to expand on that idea, making FIT a “creative hub – a place that industry looks to for ideas, innovations for experimentation.” Developing high-tech fabrics at the school is one example.

Ms. Brown would like the city to recognize FIT as a resource. “The individuals that we produce as leaders in their industry really fuel the economy. I think we’re a major stabilizing force at this end of town. The real estate industry should care what we’re doing, and so should the advertising industry. The important thing is for FIT to be a destination for this city.”

To that end, the college has recently launched the FIT Couture Council, a membership group that organizes insider tours of designers’ studios.

Creating external awareness of FIT will help the school meet its future fund-raising needs. The school is supposed to receive one third of its funding from the state, one-third from the city, and one-third from tuition. “That is what the formula is supposed to be. It doesn’t always work that way,” Ms. Brown said. “In some ways the funding for higher education in New York State is subject to the vagaries of the budget process,” she said.

Reaching out to industry and to alumni is part of the plan. “I am prepared to tell our story. It’s a really good story.”