Students can now shop on campus.
Career Closet is a new event developed for students who are seeking employment after and during their educational journey. With the help of Suntrust Bank and other community members, students will find free suits and other professional outfits in the Career Center at Augusta State University.
Amanda Boland, the developer of Career Closet and an employee of the Career Center, received a call from Suntrust Bank. The bank offered to donate gently used clothing to the Career Center to aid students who are seeking employment and need a suit for an interview.
“We always talked about doing something for the students,” Boland said. “We were not aware of any thrift shops that only provided professional clothing. We thought that, for students, we would really like them to have an interview suit.”
This idea came around right before the Business Etiquette dinner, an event on campus that required attendees to wear professional clothing. Boland and the Career Center opened the closet March 16. The suits were picked up by the Career Center on March 13 and March 15.
The process moved very quickly according to Boland, which left them with a dilemma. They had to organize what was suitable for professional attire, make sure the clothing was clean, organize the clothing for distribution and find a way for the students to learn and take advantage of the program.
“One of the requirements was that you had to dress in professional attire to come to the etiquette banquet,” Boland said. “We thought that we should hurry up and get this done before Thursday night.”
There was very little advertising of the event because the Career Center was not sure how many articles of clothing they were going to receive. Only a few e-mails and fliers were posted. Regardless of the amount of advertising, there were some who have already found this program useful.
“I first heard about it from a bulletin board in the science building while I was waiting for the elevator,” said Karis Smith, junior chemistry major. “I was reminded about it through one of all the campus e-mails that was sent. I’m graduating in a year so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity, at least to see what professional business attire was supposed to look like.”
Boland said that the program will continue and that donations are still flowing in from the surrounding community. The only requirement of donators is that the clothing must be cleaned prior to donating. Other Campus Closet events are in the works, but dates have not yet been determined. Students will receive e-mails from the Career Center on the upcoming events.
“I was blessed not only to get to see the clothing that dominated the business world, but I also found an entire suit outfit,” Smith said. “It is piece of mind knowing that when the time does finally come for me to go to job interviews, I do not have to worry about how I look. I can focus on the more important things like what to actually say.”
Campus Closet will continue to keep its doors open, but until events are established, students may make an appointment with Boland on Wednesdays during office hours.
“Going to the Career Closet was a great experience,” Smith said. “The people working it and excited. I am thankful to all the local people who donated clothing were very helpful.”