The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Students learn to dress for success
Dressing for success does not have to be expensive.
Lorain County Community College’s Career Services and Goodwill Industries of Lorain County proved it by partnering to offer a fashion show March 29 at LCCC’s College Center Building, 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria.
The “Make It Work!” style show was put on to show students how to dress for interviews on a budget.
“We want to be able to help students know how to dress for interviews without spending a lot of money,” said Vernice Jackson, experiential education professional in LCCC’s Career Services office.
Eight LCCC students and two Goodwill employees received $25 to shop for two categories: business casual and business professional outfits.
After shopping, the models showed their fashions at the style show, where they
were critiqued by three judges.
Models spent between $8 and $24 for their outfits at seven Goodwill stores in Lorain County including Avon Lake, Avon, Elyria,
North Ridgeville, Lorain, Vermilion and Oberlin.
Each judge evaluated the models and voted on the best dressed for each category on a scale from one to five. The audience chose
the winner of each contest by voting through text messages.
Model Tyla Corlew, police science major, purchased her outfit, plus shoes and jewelry for only $15.
“The show helped me because I never really knew the difference between business casual and business professional,” Corlew said.
She won the business casual contest and received a $50 gift card.
Tu Xuan Pham, computer information systems major, won the business professional contest and received the other $50 gift card.
Although the show educated students on how to dress, it also helped LCCC students studying hospitality management.
“This show served two purposes,” said Barbara Hanck, president and CEO. “It helped students understand what is acceptable to wear for an interview and it also helped students learn what it takes to organize an event.”
This was the first style show, but Hanck said she hopes to continue with the style shows.
“The show was so much fun and it was a success,” she said. “I would love to do this again with LCCC.”