The Career Center and the Student Sustainability Center held a Career Closet Pop-Up in the Erb Memorial Union on Nov. 19. The pop-up offered free professional attire that students can use for job interviews.
The event allowed students to take up to three items of professional attire and one accessory, free of charge.
“We want students to be able to go into an interview and feel their best, and we don’t want money to have to be an issue for that,” Maddy Nelson, a career readiness technology manager for the career center, said.
Nelson got involved with the Career Closet when she was a student at UO, before graduating in 2024.
“I also grew up in a home with a single dad who had actually passed away my senior year, so I had no one to lean on to get an outfit that was interview-ready,” Nelson said. “And so, growing up that way, I wanted students to be able to have an outfit — or multiple, if we can get them coming back — where they can go into their job interview and just feel their best self.”
The event offered several articles of clothing, such as slacks, blouses, button-downs and ties. Volunteers were available to assist students with style options.
“(These events are important) mostly because it’s so accessible; you don’t need to pay or anything. A lot of business casual or just business clothing is so expensive, so coming here where it’s free is awesome,” freshman Lucy Fromm said.
Many of the clothes came from student and staff donations across campus, as well as from UO alumni.
“There’s a lot of people in our community, both on and off campus, that are reaching that stage of their life where they don’t need their interview clothes anymore. It’s really important that we bring both sides of those communities together through the clothing closet, and give students an opportunity to present themselves in a professional way for free,” Savanna Vialpando, a student technology assistant at the Career Center, said.