Puppies and Power Suits

A line of students wrapped around the hallways of Parrish for the Alumni Council’s first professional clothing drive, “Career Closet.” As the doors opened, hundreds of Swatties rushed in to choose suits, shirts, and shoes for upcoming interviews and internships.

“Given the importance of first impressions, Alumni Council wanted to help students ‎supplement their already-impressive smarts and substantive skills with workplace-appropriate clothes for interviews and internships," explained Lucy Lang ’03, one of the primary instigators of the event.

Spearheaded by Lang and Deborah How ’89, a team comprising Alumni Council, the Center for Innovation and Leadership, Alumni Relations, and a host of other college organizations successfully orchestrated the drive.

It was so popular that it will become a regular part of the Alumni Council’s fall series of career-related programs, which include networking dinners, resume review sessions, and mock cocktail hours to practice elevator pitches.

More than a few students wore their new wardrobes to the career networking dinner that evening, where they had a chance to delve deeply into specific fields and industries with alumni, from entrepreneurship and nonprofits to health care and journalism.

While some students were inside hunting for professional clothes, others were outside relieving their mid-semester stress at the Alumni Council-sponsored event, Student Stress Relief With Dogs. In fact, the chance to play with a pack of campus dogs is another popular annual event.