{"id":158412,"date":"2024-09-09T13:14:27","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T19:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=158412"},"modified":"2024-09-16T11:22:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T17:22:47","slug":"celebrating-five-years-of-clydes-closet-empowering-futures-and-promoting-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=158412","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating five years of Clyde\u2019s Closet: Empowering futures and promoting sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Clyde the Mascot stands in front of Clyde’s Closet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Clyde\u2019s Closet, through the UCCS T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center, is celebrating five years of providing free professional attire to UCCS students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ever-competitive job market, first impressions can be pivotal. For students embarking on their professional journeys, securing appropriate attire for interviews, internships, and job fairs can be a daunting challenge. This is where the student professional clothing closet program, Clyde\u2019s Closet, comes into play. Clyde\u2019s Closet offers a solution not only to address the financial barriers faced by students but builds their confidence to succeed in the workplace, while also promoting environmental sustainability practices in our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been fortunate to experience the wonderful opportunities provided by Clyde’s Closet over the past five years,” said Danika Silerio of her student experience. “During this time, I have acquired a collection of high-quality pieces that have become integral to my wardrobe. I have discovered some exceptional staple and statement pieces, including a plaid skirt that has become my good luck charm. I have worn it to every scholarship and job interview since my time at UCCS, bringing me great success. As I approached graduation and sought attire suitable for professional environments, Clyde’s Closet was my first choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The donation-based professional clothing closet program, originally known as the UCCS College of Business Clothes Closet in 2010, was then transferred to the UCCS Career Center as Clyde\u2019s Closet located in Cragmor Hall in October 2018. This program was founded by the College of Business after students shared with staff that purchasing professional clothing was a financial barrier to obtaining access to internship or job opportunities. In October 2021, the UCCS Career Center was renamed the UCCS T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center<\/a> and opened its doors in the University Center, which included a new space custom-made for Clyde\u2019s Closet. In October 2023, Clyde\u2019s Closet reached five years as a program managed by the center.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Clyde’s Closet in the T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Over the years, Clyde\u2019s Closet has supported hundreds of students in securing jobs and internships. Each semester, the Career Center partners with employers for a seasonal clothing drive event to support even more students with professional attire. Additionally, Clyde\u2019s Closet has saved students $24,227 this year alone in professional attire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most significant barriers students face when entering the professional world is the cost of professional attire. Formal professional attire, such as suits, blazers and formal shoes can be expensive, especially for students. The professional clothing closet initiative mitigates this issue by providing free or low-cost professional attire to students in need. By alleviating the financial strain, the closet empowers students to attend interviews and professional events with confidence, knowing they are dressed for the part. This boost in self-esteem can translate into better performance in interviews and networking situations, directly impacting their career prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The availability of a professional clothing closet at UCCS fosters an inclusive environment where all students, regardless of their financial background, can further access the opportunity to succeed. It helps to level the playing field, ensuring that students are not at a disadvantage simply because they can\u2019t afford professional attire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UCCS faculty, staff and community members are invited to donate gently used professional attire to Clyde\u2019s Closet, where students and alumni can shop for free and keep up to seven items to own per semester. Clyde\u2019s Closet accepts full suits, blazers, slacks, button-downs, blouses, ties and belts. <\/p>\n\n\n

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A selection of clothing in Clyde’s Closet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Additionally, the career center team specifies to donors what items are needed in the closet to ensure that harder to find sizes or styles specifically requested by students are available. This list can be found on the Clyde\u2019s Closet webpage<\/a> on the T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center website. The style and dress code of professional attire can vary from industry to industry, with more professionals leaning towards using the modern attire they wear as a personal brand or a form of self-expression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the career center team partners up with JCPenney for the Suit Up Event each fall and spring semester to offer new professional attire of all sizes and styles at discounted prices to further expand accessibility. This inclusivity is essential in promoting a fair and equitable environment, where every student has the tools needed to succeed. This November 2024, the T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center is hosting the Second Annual Diversity Networking Career Event, a networking event with employers from diverse industries, and we hope students can benefit from Clyde\u2019s Closet as they prepare for the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spring 2023 semester, the T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center also participated in the UCCS Bachelor of Innovation (BI) Student Project Team Program. The BI Team was charged with identifying ways to measure the impact Clyde\u2019s Closet had for UCCS students and alumni. Based on the team\u2019s findings, by tracking the output of clothing items being taken by students it was possible to understand the financial impact. Weighing the clothing being taken by students also provided information on the extent of clothes being diverted from landfills by being reused. Since August 2023, 564.01 pounds of clothing have been reused by UCCS students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The environmental impact of the fashion industry is significant, with fast fashion contributing to pollution, excessive waste, and unsustainable resource use. Clyde\u2019s Closet helps counter these effects by encouraging the reuse and recycling of clothing. By providing gently used professional attire to students through Clyde\u2019s Closet, which is all kindly donated by our generous community patrons, more clothing is being diverted from landfills. Producing new clothing requires substantial energy, water, and raw materials. By extending the life of used garments, programs like Clyde\u2019s Closet can also help reduce the demand for new clothing production, which lowers the overall carbon footprint. This initiative educates students about the importance of sustainable fashion and conscious consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clyde\u2019s Closet would not be possible without the support of donations provided by UCCS alumni, UCCS faculty and staff, and our local community. The T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center is thankful to our community for collaborating with us on this initiative for the past five years and we look forward to many more! By providing free professional attire, Clyde\u2019s Closet empowers students to pursue their career goals with confidence and dignity. The ripple effect of these benefits extends beyond individual students, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment committed to equity and environmental responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clyde\u2019s Closet, through the UCCS T. Rowe Price Career and Innovation Center, is celebrating five years of providing free professional attire to UCCS students. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":158413,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,49,429,442],"tags":[331,332,63],"class_list":["post-158412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-campus-announcements","category-distinctive-programs","category-studentlife","tag-campus-announcements","tag-more-news","tag-student-life"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20230127_133955.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-Fd2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=158412"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158629,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158412\/revisions\/158629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/158413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=158412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=158412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=158412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}