New initiative at Tarleton keeps students ‘well-suited’ for career searches

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STEPHENVILLE (October 27, 2015) — You’re finishing your degree program at Tarleton State University and making job contacts, realizing you need to dress for success.

A new Tarleton Suit Bank will help students—men and women—dress to impress in those job interviews. The program is made possible by Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp and donations by members of the Chancellor’s Century Council, a donor group supporting special projects throughout the System.

Century Council members have donated $70,000 to create “suit banks” to lend clothes for student job seekers at the system’s 11 universities. Aaron Mitchell, speaker of the Student Senate at Texas A&M University, brought the idea to the Chancellor. Texas A&M University received $20,000, and each of the system’s 10 regional universities, including Tarleton, received $5,000 either to start a program, or supplement existing efforts.

“The Texas A&M University System is a large family, and family members help one another,” Sharp said. “I applaud this student initiative and felt it was worthy of financial support.”

Tarleton State University will implement a new 'Suit Bank' initiative beginning in Spring 2016 thanks to a donation from The Texas A&M University System Chancellor's Century Council. The university's Career Services Center will oversee the Suit Bank.
Tarleton State University will implement a new ‘Suit Bank’ initiative beginning in Spring 2016 thanks to a donation from The Texas A&M University System Chancellor’s Century Council. The university’s Career Services Center will oversee the Suit Bank.

“When Chancellor Sharp hears a great idea, he is happy to fund it, especially if it benefits students,” said Kamal Ariss, general chairman of the Chancellor’s Century Council. “Our students, armed with a great education, shouldn’t be held back because they don’t have the money to look their best for a job interview.”

The chancellor’s donation was welcomed at Tarleton, where the university’s Career Services Center will oversee the suit bank beginning this spring semester, according to Vice President for Student Life Dr. Laura Boren.

“Our goal is to implement a program that will help students secure professional attire for job opportunities,” Boren says. “The suit bank will help students, who may not have financial funding, to gain a level of confidence in their first professional experiences.”

Local members of the Chancellor’s Century Council, Nancy J. Allen and A. Dwain Mayfield, said they were excited to be a part of the Tarleton Suit Bank.

“This Texas A&M University system-wide initiative will benefit many students during the process of their first job interviews,” said Allen. “Understandably, students want to take pride in looking professional after years of hard work to obtain their degrees. As members of the Chancellor’s Century Council, we are pleased to support students in dressing for success so that they can pursue their dream careers.”

“The Chancellor’s Century Council provides the means for Chancellor Sharp to support The Texas A&M System campuses across the state in a variety of ways involving faculty and students alike.” Mayfield notes. “He uses these funds where no other means of support is obvious and in areas that might not be readily apparent to many of us. The Suit Bank initiative is just one small example of how he was able to make a difference across the system by helping students project a professional image.”

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