Students in Dr. Laura Donorfio’s HDFS 4007W course teamed up with Lisa Carrozza, Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills, and Heather Price, Director of Community Innovation and HDFS 2016 graduate, to organize UConn Waterbury’s second “Career Closet” held on November 19th and 20th. The event was a huge success, with over 125+ students visiting and over 1,000+ articles of clothing distributed. The free event allowed students to pick out professional clothing for future interviews/careers. All clothing was donated by community partners, including Waterbury City Hall coordinated by liaison Ali DeGirolamo, Mayoral Aide and HDFS 2020 graduate. This service-learning class helped students gain experience with project management, developing a budget and timeline, identifying and engaging with community partners, and developing marketing and social media plans. Important class discussions centered on connecting experiences to the National Association of Colleges and Employers career competencies, meeting the diverse needs of all students on campus, including culture variation, inclusive sizing, gender organization of clothing, and what it means to dress “professionally” for various careers today.
This article originally appeared in UConn Today. Click here to read the full article.
