North Texas

Clothing Drive Helps UNT Student Job Seekers Look Their Best

What to Know

  • Hosted by UNT Career Center.
  • Some of the free clothing is new, other items are gently used.
  • Items include suits, blouses, shirts, skirts and ties.

A clothing drive hosted by the University of North Texas aims to help students seeking a new job look their best.

Hundreds of students lined up on Tuesday in the UNT Student Union to pick out professional men’s and women’s wear.

For Clinton Ewansiha, the deals are just too good to pass up.

"You really can't," said the biology and chemistry major. "You really cannot beat this price."

Some of the free clothing is new. Other items, gently used. For a college student on a budget, all priceless.

"I don't have much," said Luis Carillo. "This is a step forward, trying to find something nice."

The professional clothing drive at UNT is called "Suit up." Items include suits, blouses, shirts, skirts and ties, so college students can look their best when interviewing for a job.

"It’s extremely important," said student Lisa Taylor. "Everybody determines how you are based on your first appearance."

"The whole reason we started this is we kept seeing students who had interviews, but showed up in things that weren't appropriate," said Sean McNamara, career coach at UNT. He said some students just don’t know what is appropriate to wear to a job interview.

"My first job interview, I knew I had to dress up," he said. "But my version of dressing up and theirs might have been a little different."

Others simply can’t afford expensive professional clothing.

"As a college student, resources are kind of low," said Taylor.

Much of the clothing is donated by local and national retailers. UNT staffers also give to the cause. One which helps students dress for a shot at success.

"You have to look the part," said Taylor. "To play the part."

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