In 2018, Clemson’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) presented by Michelin hosted a “Suit-Up” event at the Anderson Mall’s JCPenney store, with the goal of providing discounted business attire to students. The organizers were unsure of what to expect, given the mall’s distance from campus; as a result, the predicted turnout was low. To their surprise, over 500 students attended, filling lines that snaked around the store and keeping staff busy until past midnight. CCPD staff member Caren Kelley-Hall recognized the need among students for a professional clothing resource, and she quickly acted on it. Within that year, the Career Closet was born.
Now located in room 270 on the second floor of the Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center, Clemson’s Career Closet provides students with a full inventory of business attire, and students with an official CUID are allowed to take home unlimited items, free of charge. Containing all sizes and styles, the closet is designed to be an accessible resource for students who are job hunting and engaging in other professional pursuits.
“Instead of just renting items, we are trying to help the students build up their permanent professional wardrobes. How you project yourself matters, and we want to have a hand in helping these students work towards their future beyond Clemson,” says Kelley-Hall.
The Career Closet impacts a wide range of individuals from all different parts of campus. In the last three years, a total of over 1,200 students have utilized the space. This group includes both male and female students from every academic college and every class, as well as athletes and veterans.
Another unique aspect of the closet is the inventory is almost entirely sustained by donations from the Clemson community and alumni. This level of support illustrates just how connected the Clemson Family truly is.
“Our alumni play a huge role in supporting the Career Closet,” says senior management major and Career Closet intern Kaitlyn Stevenson. “When we are lacking items, they make a significant effort to provide us with anything and everything we need.”
Locals and former Tigers aren’t the only ones who want to see Clemson students succeed. Kelley-Hall also praises the corporate partners involved in stocking the closet.
“At the Career Fair, we set up donation stations, and most of the over 400 company representatives who attend the event contribute items to the dropbox. It’s amazing to see the companies who are interviewing our students also giving us the clothes to help dress our students.”
Kelley-Hall serves as the senior associate director of the University Professional Internship and Co-op (UPIC) program, which offers on-campus positions to students. When she established the Career Closet, she quickly recognized how valuable the work of managing and promoting the closet could be to students, so she blended the two programs and created UPIC positions within the new space. The students who have worked or are currently working in the closet have nothing but high praise for the experience.
“It is so interesting compared to other UPIC opportunities because there is so much variety. As Career Closet manager, I get the retail side, the management side and the marketing side. There is a large area for me to learn within and grow within, as a person and as a professional,” says Stevenson, who is currently in her first semester with the closet.
While the position offers valuable professional experience, it also encourages meaningful connections between student interns and their peers through communication and hands-on service.
“When I worked over the summer, I was able to meet a lot of other international students and form connections with them through the closet. There was one student from Columbia who was so stressed about her upcoming interview, but I was able to calm her down and help her pick out an outfit. Later, she came back in to tell me that she got the job! It was a very full circle moment,” says junior management major Camila Guillen.
Kelley-Hall hopes this resource will continue to lift the weight off students’ shoulders and send them into professional settings with resolute self-assurance.
“We are always promoting Clemson’s core competencies here at the CCPD, and ‘brand’ is one that the Career Closet directly supports. We are here to help students establish their brand,” says Kelley-Hall.
Looking forward, she hopes to expand the project to acquire even more donations that will upgrade the inventory and fulfill her goal of meeting every student’s needs. She is also considering collaboration with student organizations to promote the space and connect with different parts of campus.
The unique service the Career Closet provides is directly aligned with one of Clemson’s primary goals — preparing students for life after graduation. In building confidence by helping individuals look and feel their best, the Career Closet plays a foundational role in the lifelong success of its students.
To learn more about the Career Closet, follow @cucareercloset on Instagram!
