Senior helps students dress for success

“Hey, can I borrow that black skirt you wore at church last Sunday?”

“You’re a size 9, right? Perfect! I need to borrow those flats tomorrow too!”

“Can I wear jeans to this event? What about my dark ones, because that’s all I've got?”

Those are the kinds of conversations my friends and I often had the night before a career fair, an important class presentation or a job interview. I didn’t mind the monthly invasion of my closet, but when I saw an email from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences looking for an intern to help jump-start their new program, the Success Closet, an initiative to gather donations of professional attire students can borrow, I wanted to be a part of it.

I've always had a love for fashion and knew from my friends that there was a high demand for these clothing items on campus. What I didn't know until I started as an intern in September was that the closet was still an idea, one that needed to be developed and nurtured. My supervisors, director of Student Academic Services Terri Marriott and career advisor Lauren Nicolosi, asked me to develop a strategy that would this turn this vision into reality.

After we identified the objectives, I immediately began thinking of ways that would help push our program forward.…and that’s when I began to freak out.

I have never taken a business class, let alone created a business plan. How would the Success Closet receive donations? How would students take out borrowed items and return them? Could Rider partner with a clothing store like Macy’s that could give us additional clothing? Most importantly, how was I going to make all of this a reality?

Pretending to be an overnight marketing wiz wasn’t going to help anybody, so after my 15-minute panic session, I took stock of the strengths, skills and resources I already had. As a journalism major for the past four years, I learned that one of the most important steps to good reporting is researching. This time I wasn’t writing a story for The Rider News, but I knew my superb research skills could help me realize the purpose of this project. So that’s exactly what I did.

As a result of staying true to myself and being encouraged by my mentors, over the next two months I designed and presented a business plan that has now become the official blueprint for the new program. This included a marketing campaign that allowed me to create original promotional materials such as flyers and advertising blurbs. I also formed the request and policy agreement contracts needed to build trust and clear communication between companies and consumers. By the end of my internship with about 20 men and women suits in various sizes, skirts and blazers, the Success Closet was truly beginning to reflect its name. 

Delighted with the program’s progress, my supervisors asked me to come back (of course I said yes) and I am now referred to as the Success Closet’s outreach coordinator. 

When I accepted the internship, I had no idea I was going to be devising business plans, creating flyers, meeting with deans and basically managing a program from the development to implementation. I always had great organizational skills, but this project taught me how to balance multiple projects while still making sure deadlines are met with attention to detail. Taking the initiative became the norm for me, which helped me stay productive and build trust with my bosses.

At Success Closet, we believe that if you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you do great. I want all Rider students to have that feeling of self-assurance whenever they go out into the world to follow their dreams, and I want Success Closet to be part of that experience. 

 If you would like to donate barely worn or new professional clothing to Success Closet, please email [email protected] for more information.