Wolfson Campus opened the doors to its first Career Closet in partnership with the Miami Fashion Institute on Feb. 25.
The program, which has existing sites at the Kendall, Hialeah, West and North campuses, provides students with free professional attire and accessories to use for job interviews.
“We wanted to be able to provide students with those services and help students who didn’t have the right shoes or pants, look presentable for interviews,” said William Soto, who serves as dean of students at Wolfson Campus.
The wardrobe is located in Room 3150-11 and includes button-down shirts, blazers, dresspants, skirts and ties. It’s situated next to the Single Stop food pantry, which was relocated to the first floor of building 3 following a $9 million renovation project in September.
To gain access to the Career Closet, students need to register with Single Stop before undergoing a screening process to determine the resources they need.
“What makes it even more special, is that our students had their actual fingerprints on the clothing,” Soto said.
Michelle Pitter, who teaches fashion merchandising at the MFI, worked with her students to shape a vision for the Career Closet.
While half of the class was shopping for clothes to fill up the closet, the other half was cleaning the wardrobe and designing the interior to best simulate a shopping experience.
“It was really lovely that everybody worked together,” Pitter said.
Beyond just providing clothes, the students thought of essential elements for the closet—a portable changing room, a mirror and specific pieces like socks, undershirts and tights.
Natalie Gonzalez, a fashion student at the MFI, played a pivotal role in making the closet by measuring the space in the room that was necessary for the portable changing room.
“My main goal was to make sure that there wasn’t a single item that you would have to look for outside of the closet,” Gonzalez said.
Students are allowed to take the clothes they pick out to keep for themselves without having to return it and can stop by once a semester upon registration.
Anyone interested in donating to the Career Closet can bring articles of clothing to Room 3150. Clothing must be in almost-new condition, free of stains or damage.
“The fact that a college like this, that’s so known and so big, cares and shows they care by creating a safe, beautiful space is everything,” said Miranda Soleri, a student success adviser at Wolfson.
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