The Career Closet at WVU’s Chambers College gives students’ wardrobes—and their confidence—a boost.
Dressing for a career fair or an interview can be fraught for an aspiring young professional. “For some students, their only suit might be from their senior homecoming,” says Kara Sherrell, program director for employer relations at the WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics’ Center for Career Development. “By the time they’re going to career fairs, they’ve probably outgrown it. Or maybe they didn’t bring one to college with them, or they can’t afford one.”
Created in 2022 to address that lack, the college’s Gloria Jean Rosenthal Career Closet addresses it in style.
The Career Closet is mostly not the physical closet you’ve already imagined, where students can find donated professional wear in a pinch—although there is a little of that. “We do keep a small number of donations from the community in the closet that students can access if they need something quickly,” Sherrell says.
At its heart, the Career Closet is a project to provide student applicants with brand-new, expertly styled and tailored outfits guaranteed to impress.
“Last fall, we worked with Daniel’s of Morgantown,” Sherrell says. “The owner, Phil Mauser, came in and measured the students, and he had some options for them to choose from.” Daniel’s altered the suits, and students picked them up at Mauser’s shop at no charge to them. “Phil donated his time and the tailoring services, so we were just responsible for the cost of the suits. And in the spring, we took a group of our female students to Coni and Franc, and Connie Merandi did the same thing for them.”
In true business school fashion, the selection process relies on a pitch rather than a means test. Any student is invited to submit a brief application explaining how a new suit will help them toward their career goals, Sherrell says.
For those whose applications are accepted, the wardrobe upgrade can make a tremendous difference.
“For example, two of our female students posted pictures on LinkedIn of themselves at their summer internships in the suits they got from the Career Closet, and they talked about the confidence it gave them,” Sherrell says. “Internships may not pay well—there might not be a lot left after students are done paying for classes and living expenses. Knowing they have a quality, professional suit when they start those first jobs and internships is huge.”
Forty students got wardrobe boosts from the Career Closet in the 2022–23 school year, and Sherrell is hoping to outfit 60 to 80 at three fitting events this year: one each in advance of the accounting-focused Meet the Firms night in September, the Business and Communications Career and Internship Fair in October, and the spring 2024 Career Fair.
Want to help? Clothing donations are accepted only under specific conditions: email Sherrell directly.
But if you benefitted from an early-career leg-up you’d like to pay forward, or if you’re a WVU alum looking for a modest way to begin giving back, your cash donation in any amount is a gift of confidence that can start an earnest student’s career out right—and $250 buys an entire outfit. Click the “Donate Now” button here.
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