The Career Closet door springs open, revealing an eclectic assortment of elegant suits and shirts. Lost in admiration for the variety of fine garments, including a vibrant crimson red blazer, Cheryl Rotyliano, the closet’s “curator,” beams with pride as she stands in the space.

Rotyliano is the Assistant Director for Career Engagement and Education at Ithaca College’s Career Services. Her enthusiasm for helping students is just as noticeable as the red blazer that stands out among the other professional garments inside the Closet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgpipEKPTks

Eager to show off Career Services’ newest resource for students—a Career Closet from which students can borrow business and business-casual attire, free of charge, for job interviews—Rotyliano barrels in, quickly sifts through the collection of suits and blazers, and elects to show a more conservative, gray blazer.

Upon joining the IC Career Services team in 2017 and working closely with students during mock interviews, Rotyliano saw an immediate need for the closet.

“I was asking [students] ‘what is your preparation for what you’re going to wear?’ and getting a lot of unknown answers,” Rotyliano said. “Or ‘I have to figure out how to buy something, but it doesn’t seem doable.'”

Rotyliano, taking inspiration from her experiences with Career Closets at other schools, began collecting clothing from the campus community in December. The Ithacan community delivered by donating nearly 100 different articles of professional clothing.

“I was pleasantly surprised by the support of the IC community, with faculty and staff donations; the turnout was really strong,” Rotyliano said. “It allowed us [Career Services] to get the Closet up and going, and much quicker than I anticipated.”

Ohio State University has a Career Closet, too; its doors have been open since 2014.

Lane Washington, the assistant director for Strategic Partnerships in OSU’s Office of Student Life, noted the value that the Closet brings to students.

“I believe when you look good, you feel good,” Washington said. “Students aren’t just grateful; they are excited to have this opportunity. We have students who come three, four, five times [to the Closet].”

Like Rotyliano, Washington saw students’ need for affordable and accessible professional attire, a need which has been realized by more and more Ohio State students each year.

“In 2016, we had around 500 articles of clothing,” Washington said. “We had about 2,000 in February, and had the most successful Career Closet this spring, with more than 400 students showing.”

Since opening its doors to the campus community on Feb. 25, IC’s Career Closet has collected enough garments to line the walls and fill several tubs, waiting for students to borrow.

The Career Closet is open to Ithaca students Monday through Friday, from 8:30 to 5:00 p.m.