By MARCOS BROCH-MONFORT, NEWS3 Reporter
MACOMB, Illinois (NEWS3) – College students that do not have access to professional clothing for interviews or internships, can go shopping in a Career Closet on campus hosted by the Career Center.
“Our office was noticing that students were really needing professional attire to wear in these internships because you don’t necessarily have the money or the funding to go out and purchase that first suit for your interview because you don’t have the job yet,” Mandi McRaven, Career Coordinator at the Career Center, said. “We try to make sure the clothes are on-trend, that we think that students from the ages of 18 to 25 are likely to wear. We try to keep them current.”
The closet is sponsored by WIU’s Center for Career Preparation & Employer Engagement, and students may obtain up to 10 items of career clothing per semester at no cost and are theirs to keep.
The closet has expanded over the past several years, and more students utilize the closet towards the end of the semester and during career fairs. Donations usually come from faculty members, upper administration on campus, and the Macomb community. The closet staff also organizes community drives, where the community can donate items.
Recently, the closet received a large donation from a deceased alumnus.
“His wife knew he would like his suits to be donated to the school, and she shipped it all the way from Florida,” McRaven said. “That’s a little unusual, we don’t get that all the time. It was wonderful to hear that they had such fun memories from WIU that they wanted to give back.”
The Career Closet is located in the lower level of Memorial Hall, and students can make an appointment through Handshake, logging in with their ECom credentials.
