In Phoebe Morris’ three years of working at a nursing home, she accumulated many pairs of scrubs.
When it comes to more professional clothing, however, Morris doesn’t have much. And she knows scrubs won’t cut it for a job interview she has later this month.
Milwaukee Area Technical College opened its Career Closet on Feb. 18 for students like Morris to find and keep gently used professional attire at no charge. Morris, who is pursuing an associate degree in science, found a gray pencil skirt, black blazer, white button-down dress shirt and low black wedge heels.
“I don’t have a ton of career clothes,” she said. “So this is a nice resource for students.”
Career closets are a relatively new phenomenon on college campuses. The idea is to better support low-income students during the transition to the workforce. Offering a blazer and trousers can do more than save students some money. It can also boost their confidence as they interview for internships, apply for jobs and mingle at career fairs.
Alverno College was among the first of higher education institutions in the Milwaukee area to open a closet in 2012. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee followed in 2017. Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering started theirs in 2022. Mount Mary University students have had access to a collection of clothes in a storage room for a few years but the official launch came last fall.
MATC worked for several years to open its Career Closet, said Equan Burrows, MATC’s dean of student experience. But given the high need of its student population, the college wanted to ensure the operation would remain sustainable before opening its doors.
“I’m guessing this will be a month’s worth of clothing,” Burrows said, gesturing to a storage room full of dress shirts, pants, blazers and belts.
MATC receives clothing for the closet from staff and community partners. Monetary donations also allow staff to buy clothes for students with less-common clothing sizes.
Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Career Closet helps students dress for success
The Career Closet looks less like a closet and more like a department store.
Tie racks and mannequins display donated items. Shoes line one wall. A three-way mirror is tucked into a corner.
The glass-topped front desk looks like a jewelry counter. It’s here where MATC staff assess how far along students are in their job search.
“It’s not just us giving out clothing,” Burrows said. “It’s actually saying, ‘Hey, do you have a resume? Do you have what you need in order to be successful?’ And then let’s double down and give you what you need.”
MATC students model Career Closet items at fashion show
To promote the closet to students, MATC’s Career Hub transformed the student lounge into a catwalk for an hour on Feb 18. A DJ blasted music. Rows of chairs lined the sides of the raised runway.
“Today is about helping you feel confident and career-ready,” Dionna Simmon, an employment development specialist in the MATC Career Hub, told the audience. “We’ll tell you what works and what doesn’t. First impressions, we know, matter.”
A dozen students, including Morris, strutted down the runway. Some of their outfits represented how to dress for an interview. Others showed off what not to wear. Most fell somewhere in the middle, kicking off discussions about the appropriateness of scarves and sandals.
A panel of judges, including MATC President Anthony Cruz, held up green or red flags as their way of weighing in on each outfit.
Judge Kobena-Marcus J. Collins, who works as a recruiter for the City of Milwaukee, told students it was important to dress their best, but employers understand not everyone has unlimited financial resources.
Aniya Watts stole the show in a black and white jumpsuit, which she already owned.
Her stiletto heels, though? They were from the Career Closet.
Kelly Meyerhofer has covered higher education in Wisconsin since 2018. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
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