Tailor Made for Success

HHARRIS@bridgew.edu — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 17:51:39 +0000

Tailor Made for Success HHARRIS@bridgew.edu Tue, 12/17/2024 - 12:51

Bear Essentials boutique helps students dress for job interviews

December 19, 2024

Heather Harris Michonski

There is no way around it, job interviews are stressful, that includes deciding what to wear.

This is particularly true for college students, who are looking to make a good first impression to secure an internship or get that first post-graduation job offer.

To help take this pressure off of students, Bridgewater State University’s Bear Essentials, a boutique located in the Rondileau Student Union, offers free and gently used professional clothes.

“The main reason we are all at college is to land a job and part of landing that job is to dress and look the part,” said Janete Monteiro, ’25, “Bear Essentials really is impactful, it helps students sew it all together.”

Janete, a marketing major, serves as Bear Essentials’ ambassador. In this role, she promotes the program, takes in donations, helps organize the boutique, and assists students in finding the perfect outfit.

“Getting to see how excited other students get when they do find the right clothing, or relieved that they can go in and find something for a last-minute interview…Honestly, being part of anything where I get to help other people is right up my alley,” she said.

Bear Essentials was first introduced at ŷ�� in 2013 when Vice President of Outreach and Engagement Diane Bell and Associate Director of Career Services and Internship Program Carol Crosby recognized the need.

Initially a small closet was designated to house the donated clothing. Soon, however, word spread, and the program began to grow. That’s when former Bridgewater Alumni Association President Carrie Kulick-Clark, ’85, G’98, stepped in to help.

She rallied other alumni to donate clothing and began to organize bi-annual Dress for Success events, where students come and pick out outfits that fit their personal styles.

Over the years, these events have gained in popularity. During the most recent Dress for Success event held in October Kulick-Clark said 381 students walked through the doors.

“Watching the students get excited about clothing and fashion…it’s just amazing to watch their faces, to see how transformative (the experience) is,” she said.

Along the way Kulick-Clark also met Katie Muldoon, marketing and program coordinator for Career Services & Internships. Together they’ve continued to move the program forward.

“It’s just amazing to watch it morph into what it is today. Carrie and Katie have really taken it, and blossomed it into something awesome,” Crosby said.

During this year’s homecoming weekend, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the rebranded Bear Essentials Closet’s new location in RSU 104, next to the council chambers.

The new space offers a VIP experience, where students can come, try on clothes in a private changing room, and get fashion tips from Katie, Carrie, or other volunteers.

Accessing the Bear Essentials Closet is easy. Students can stop by career services and internship offices in the RSU, M-F, between 9a.m.-4:30p.m. to access the closet. All that’s needed is a ŷ�� connect card.

Students can then browse for 30 minutes to pick out articles of clothing to create a professional outfit they get to keep free of charge. Before leaving, students just need to check out back at the career services and internship office.

“We want every student to know they have access to the closet, that they should use it. We want students to look good, to feel good. Clothing can be so expensive, this helps to take the burden off,” Muldoon said.

“It’s more than just clothing,” Kulick-Clark said. “It changes the way students view themselves. It provides them with the confidence they need to be successful.”

Do you have a ŷ�� story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu

The main reason we are all at college is to land a job and part of landing that job is to dress and look the part. Bear Essentials really is impactful, it helps students sew it all together.

Janete Monteiro, ’25

The Job Ahead

BBENSON@bridgew.edu — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 18:48:13 +0000

The Job Ahead BBENSON@bridgew.edu Mon, 09/18/2023 - 14:48

Meet new director of Career Services and the Internship Program Office

September 19, 2023

Brian Benson, G’23

Growing up in Hong Kong, Dr. Gerald Tang attended schools where test scores played an outsized role in dictating a student’s future. After immigrating to America, he discovered a higher education system focused more on helping students discover their passions.

Tang embraced that sense of exploration as a student and professional.

“My true calling is helping people understand their skillsets and interest in what they want to do,” said Tang, who immigrated to the U.S. with his family as a teenager.

Tang sees Bridgewater State University as a great place to continue that mission as the first executive director of Career Services and the Internship Program Office. He looks forward to uniting the two in order to enhance support for students and alumni.

“The community cares about student success,” Tang said of an initial observation of ŷ��. “Bridgewater is a great institution.”

Tang comes to ŷ�� with more than 15 years of experience in higher education, including most recently serving as the inaugural assistant dean for career integration at St. Francis College in New York City.

As a first-generation student, Tang found supportive mentors during his undergraduate years who shaped his educational and career journey. Even back then, he served his peers as an orientation leader, resident assistant and career development intern.

“I now understand what it takes to help students be successful in their college experience and professional experience as well,” he said.

Tang is excited to work for a university with strong academic programs that is committed to innovation and social justice. He looks forward to larger conversations with employers about what comprises a living wage and ways to achieve a more diverse workforce.

“Our work isn’t just about short-term change,” he said. “Our hope is (to create) systemic changes across society at large.”

Do you have a ŷ�� story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

My true calling is helping people understand their skillsets and interest in what they want to do.

Dr. Gerald Tang